Overview

• WHO’s 2025 theme ‘‘Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products’’ guided nationwide events on May 31 to spotlight deceptive marketing aimed at youth.
• Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Public Health reported that 45,865 out of 51,477 schools and 2,173 of 2,484 colleges have been certified tobacco-free, alongside over 460,000 COTPA fines totalling ₹797 million.
• Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched a four-phase, year-long awareness drive featuring door-to-door outreach, IEC materials and a digital Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions app to curb tobacco-related deaths.
• Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta led the ‘Walk for Life – Quit Tobacco’ initiative in Rohini, uniting medical professionals and residents in a public pledge to reject tobacco’s health and financial harms.
• In Mysuru, Jaipur, Kalaburagi and Indore, community walkathons, pledge ceremonies and street skits engaged students and the public to highlight tobacco’s links to cancer, heart and respiratory diseases.