Quitting tobacco could give economic boost to over 20.5 mn households in India: Analysis

NEW DELHI: (Apr 21) An analysis has estimated that quitting tobacco could help 11.5 per cent or 20.5 million households in India move up one economic class, with rural areas and the poorest households possibly seeing the greatest impact.

Seven million middle-income families may also stand to benefit from quitting tobacco, the estimates published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Global Health suggest.

Researchers, including those from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) in Noida, said the findings show the direct economic benefits of tobacco cessation and that tobacco control needs to be integrated with poverty reduction strategies through increased taxation, cessation support programmes and awareness campaigns.