The new integrated dashboard developed by the Election Commission
is set to become operational during the current round of Assembly byelections
and the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.
The dashboard, named ECINET, is aimed at providing all services for
stakeholders at a single point, instead of the over 40 apps or websites that
exist now.
Tobacco affordability fuelling cancer epidemic in India
Nicotine addiction doesn’t start by accident.
The industry has come up with over 16 000 flavours.
They're not “fun” or “cool“ – they’re calculated traps.
Flavours are often cited as the number 1 reason young people start
using nicotine and tobacco products. These products are designed to mask
harshness, manipulate impressions and build lifelong addiction.
Unlike in other countries where higher prices have deterred
smoking, prices remain low in India; tobacco affordability undermines the World
Health Organization’s MPOWER framework and weakens control, hindering efforts
to reduce tobacco-related cancers; implementing robust policies are the need of
the hour to curb tobacco use
World No Tobacco Day (31st
May 2025)
“Sutta (smoking) breaks” a
creative escape. “It’s time to take a break from work stress and make
connections. The chai-sutta break is where ideas flow as freely as the smoke.”
But for many non-smokers, this come at a cost — involuntary exposure to
second-hand smoke.
According to GATS2 data, nearly 42% of men and 14% of women in
India use tobacco. Home to 70% of the world’s smokeless tobacco (SLT) users,
SLT is preferred over smoked tobacco in the country. In smoked tobacco, the
bidi is favoured over cigarettes, especially in rural and low-income groups.
Despite the preference for bidis, India has seen the largest increase in the
market share of cigarettes globally.
Now even in villages, people want to try cigarettes because they
think it’s modern.”
Both SLT and smoked tobacco drastically increase cancer risk,
particularly for lung, head, neck, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. “
India ranks first globally in male cancer incidence and mortality
rates. Among tobacco-related cancers in males, lung cancer leads globally,
while in India, lip and oral cancers top the list, followed by lung cancer.
Along with the health burden, tobacco use imposed an economic cost
of ₹1.77 lakh crore (1.04% of India’s GDP) in 2017-2018. Smoking accounted for
74% of these costs, while SLT use made up 26%. With tobacco use on the rise,
both health and economic costs are projected to increase.
Smoking doesn’t just cost you money — it costs you your life and
the lives of those who depend on you.”
India faces a dual challenge of significant health and economic
burdens from tobacco-related cancers and the complexities of lung cancer
screening in a tuberculosis-endemic country. This underscores the urgent need
for evidence-based anti-tobacco policies as a primary prevention strategy.
However, the tobacco industry’s influence — through policy interference,
pricing tactics to maintain affordability, targeted marketing, dense tobacco
shop networks, and a lack of political will — ensures widespread tobacco
accessibility.
“The fact that a bidi costs less than a cup of tea is a tragedy,”
"How cheap tobacco
ruining lives.”
Taxation is a critical yet underutilised tool in reducing tobacco
use.
Despite the proposed GST increase to 35%, it falls short of the
World Health Organization’s recommendation of taxing tobacco at 75% of its MRP
to effectively deter use.
Even with the steep increase in tobacco tax, its impact decreases
if consumers’ income increases significantly.
Unlike in many countries where higher prices have curbed smoking,
rising incomes in India — especially among the 450 million middle class — have
outpaced tax hikes. With more purchasing power, tobacco remains affordable.
The 2024 Union Budget’s unchanged tobacco taxes worsened the issue,
enabling “undershifting,” where manufacturers absorb tax hikes to grow their
markets.
Unit pricing
A key factor in tobacco affordability is its unit pricing. A pack
of bidis has a median price of ₹12 but can be found for as little as ₹5.
Similarly, smokeless tobacco products have a median price of ₹5, with some
being sold for as low as ₹1. While
cigarette packs have a median price of ₹95, cheaper options are available for
as low as ₹5.
“Cigarettes are so cheap
that they’re easy to buy. The government needs to make it harder for
people to afford them.”
To enhance affordability, cigarettes are often sold as single
sticks — a practice banned in 88 countries but not in India.
Priced at approximately ₹15, single sticks become easily affordable
and bypass graphic health warnings. Research shows that 87% of Indian cigarette
vendors sell single sticks, frequently operating near tea stalls, reinforcing
the widespread “chai-sutta” culture.
In India where a significant proportion of the population earns
₹170-180 per day, along with the addictive potential of tobacco, makes the
current tobacco pricing affordable to fulfill their cravings.
Tobacco affordability undermines the WHO’s MPOWER framework and
weakens tobacco control, hindering efforts to reduce tobacco-related cancers.
Reducing tobacco use is vital for cutting cancer incidence. Implementing robust
anti-tobacco policies can be effective in curbing tobacco use.
Regular tax hikes that outpace income growth can make tobacco
products unaffordable, discouraging their use. Additionally, banning
single-stick sales can reinforce health warnings and curb impulse purchases.
Further, allocating tobacco tax revenue towards public health initiatives, such
as cancer screenings in underserved areas, can have a significant impact.
Enforcing plain packaging with prominent health warnings can also reduce
tobacco’s appeal, while restricting sales near tea stalls can help break the
‘chai-sutta’ association. Robust enforcement, through regular inspections and
penalties, is essential to uphold these regulations.
THE GIST
India ranks first globally in male cancer incidence and mortality
rates. Among tobacco-related cancers in males, lung cancer leads globally,
while in India, lip and oral cancers top the list, followed by lung cancer
Along with the health burden, tobacco use imposed an economic cost
of ₹1.77 lakh crore (1.04% of India’s GDP) in 2017-2018. Smoking accounted for
74% of these costs, while SLT use made up 26%
India faces a dual challenge of significant health and economic
burdens from tobacco-related cancers and the complexities of lung cancer
screening in a tuberculosis-endemic country. This underscores the urgent need
for evidence-based anti-tobacco policies as a primary prevention strategy
What causes body odour
As far as body odour goes, there are three key groups of enabler bugs: Cutibacterium acnes, found in areas rich in sebaceous glands (face, back, chest, armpit, groin), contributes to a musky odour through lipid breakdown. The second is Corynebacterium, found in moist regions like the armpit and groin, which converts sweat compounds into pungent volatiles including sulphur compounds.
Finally, there is Staphylococcus epidermidis, common on the face, scalp, armpits, and groin, which plays a balancing role — less directly involved in odour production and may help prevent overgrowth of stronger odour-producing microbes.
India’s ECE system faces three major challenges. First, children are not receiving sufficient instructional time. Nearly 5.5 crore children between ages three to six are enrolled in 14 lakh operational Anganwadis and 56,000 government pre-primary schools. However, Anganwadi workers spend only 38 minutes per day on preschool instruction, which is far short of the scheduled two hours, and only 9% of pre-primary schools have a dedicated ECE teacher. We are planting trees without the right care to help them grow. The effects are reflected in learning outcomes. The India Early Childhood Education Impact Study found that only 15% of pre-primary children could match basic objects, a skill essential for letter recognition in Class one. Similarly, only 30% could identify larger and smaller numbers, which are foundational for arithmetic. As a result, children often start formal schooling without the skills they need, with many bypassing essential ECE years entirely: 2% of three-year-olds, 5.1% of four-year-olds, and nearly one-fourth of five-year-olds are enrolled directly in Class one.
The Heckman curve was
a powerful economic model that provided a simple yet profound insight — of the
relationship between age and the rate of return on investments in human
capital. Heckman found that every dollar invested in early childhood education
yields a return that ranges from $7 to $12, with lasting impacts: children who
receive quality early education are four times more likely to have higher
earnings and three times more likely to own a home as adults. By age five, many
gaps in outcomes — such as earning potential and quality of life —are already
evident. Children often struggle throughout life if motivation and learning
habits are not nurtured early.
What challenges do gig workers face? Gig workers face several challenges, primarily revolving around the nature of temporary, project-based...
