India is the 3rd largest producer and also the 2nd largest consumer of tobacco in the world. Every 5th adult in India consumes chewing tobacco while every 10th adult smokes cigarettes or bidis.
The average age at which one starts smoking in India is 18. A regular smoker spends nearly 1200 rupees in a month on cigarettes and smokes at least 7 cigarettes per day.
This means mortality rates due to tobacco are also quite high in India. Every year, 1.3 million deaths are attributed to tobacco in which 1 million are attributed smoking tobacco and the rest to chewing tobacco.
16% of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases in India are linked to tobacco use. 1 in 9 asthma deaths worldwide is due to smoking tobacco as well.