India among 6 countries conferred with Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control

India was presented the ‘O’ category award for promoting tobacco cessation. The ‘O’ is the MPOWER policy package of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that stands for ‘Offer help to quit tobacco use.’

The awards celebrated several governments and NGOs making progress to reduce tobacco use. Among the other countries that received the award were Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Philippines and Ukraine.

The WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, developed with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, was also launched on the occasion.

In India, a whole range of services including tobacco testing labs and mobile cessation measures among others have been set up to reduce tobacco usage in the country. This includes a well established national toll-free quit line, handling around 50,000 calls per month and free cessation support services at primary care facilities and hospitals.

Tobacco cessation services are provided at 675 district hospitals, 302 dental institutions, 361 medical institutions and across 607 non-communicable diseases (NCD) clinics, oral health clinics and community health centres. There are four quit lines at NIMHANS, Vallabhbai Patel Chest Centre, New Delhi, Tata Memorial Centre and Borooah Cancer Institute in Guwahati.

Between 2007 and 2023, the global average smoking prevalence has reduced from 22.3 per cent to 16.4 per cent, a relative reduction of 26 per cent over 16 years. According to the report, the adult daily smoking prevalence in 2023 in India was at 7 per cent. While experts said that smokeless tobacco was a big concern in India, several steps have been taken to address multiple challenges.

“India has been making consistent efforts to help people quit tobacco through the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP). This includes the establishment of tobacco cessation clinics in various locations (including dental and medical facilities), screening and intervention in primary care at the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, establishing Cessation and National Tobacco Quitlines, integrating the NTCP with existing health services and national programmes, enacting legislation, providing training and awareness to healthcare providers, as well as public awareness campaigns,” Dr Pratima Murthy, Director and senior professor of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, who received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told The Indian Express.

“Tobacco free youth campaigns and the TeleManas initiative also represent efforts to address the underlying reasons for initiation of tobacco use. These comprehensive efforts indicate India’s commitment to reduce tobacco use and promote public health. It is an absolute honour to receive the award on behalf of the Indian Government,” added Dr Murthy.

Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and injuries, presented the award. “Since Bloomberg Philanthropies started supporting global tobacco control efforts in2007, there has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go,” said Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report reveals that the most striking gains have been in graphic health warnings, one of the key measures under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), that make the harms of tobacco impossible to ignore.

At the award ceremony, Michael R. Bloomberg also announced a new $20 million Accelerator Fund to help advance progress in countries where tobacco control is stalled. Bloomberg Philanthropies will work with partners to proactively engage governments and NGOs in several low- and middle-income countries that either lack best-practice tobacco control measures or are close to implementing all best-practice measures.