Quitting smoking: challenges and the way forward in the Indian scenario

摘要

Tobacco smoking is the second most common risk factor for diseases worldwide and in South Asia 1 . Each year tobacco kills about 1 million Indians 2 . If the current trends continue, by 2020 tobacco will account for 13% of all deaths 3 . Quitting smoking is the single most important step a smoker can take to improve the length and quality of his/her life. In order to reduce tobacco-related deaths and morbidities, current users must quit smoking. However, quitting smoking can be tough due to the addictive nature of nicotine. Also, high rates of relapse occur among quitters due to the addiction potential of nicotine 4 . Thus governments need to encourage smokers to quit and provide assistance by formulating smoker-friendly policies.