Building a Tobacco-Free India Requires Public Health Champions: PVCHR’s Call for Action on NCDs
Building a Tobacco-Free India Requires Public Health Champions: PVCHR’s Call for Action on NCDs
By PVCHR | World No Tobacco Day
On World No Tobacco Day, the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) reiterates that the fight against tobacco is not only a public health issue but also a human rights issue. Across India, millions of people continue to suffer from preventable Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory illnesses, stroke, and diabetes—many of which are directly linked to tobacco consumption and exposure.
India carries one of the world's largest burdens of NCDs. These diseases not only claim lives prematurely but also push vulnerable families into poverty due to catastrophic healthcare expenses. The impact is especially severe among marginalized communities, where access to healthcare, awareness, and preventive services remains limited.
For PVCHR, the issue of NCDs is deeply connected to dignity, equality, and social justice. Health cannot be separated from human rights. Communities affected by poverty, discrimination, and social exclusion often bear the heaviest burden of tobacco-related illnesses while having the least access to treatment and rehabilitation.
From Public Opinion to Public Policy
Lenin Raghuvanshi, founder of PVCHR, has consistently emphasized that social transformation requires more than public concern—it requires leadership capable of translating concern into policy action.
As he has observed:
“Every public opinion is not policy. For that, we need champions.”
This insight is particularly relevant in the field of tobacco control and NCD prevention. Public awareness about the dangers of tobacco has increased significantly over the years. Yet awareness alone does not save lives. Effective change requires policymakers, healthcare professionals, civil society organizations, media institutions, and community leaders who are willing to champion stronger public health measures.
Shruti Nagvanshi: Stronger Measures for a Healthier Future
Shruti Nagvanshi, Co-founder of PVCHR and a long-standing advocate for community health and social justice, has welcomed recent efforts to strengthen tobacco taxation and regulatory measures.
According to her, tobacco is not simply an individual habit; it is a public health crisis that contributes significantly to the growing burden of NCDs across India.
She emphasized that stronger taxation, regulation, and public awareness initiatives can play a crucial role in reducing tobacco consumption, particularly among young people who remain vulnerable to addiction and targeted marketing.
Shruti Nagvanshi further stressed that revenue generated from tobacco taxation should be invested in:
Strengthening public healthcare systems;
Expanding NCD prevention and screening programs;
Supporting tobacco cessation and de-addiction services;
Increasing community awareness and health education initiatives;
Improving healthcare access for vulnerable populations.
Human Rights and Health Must Go Together
PVCHR's work over the years has demonstrated that sustainable social change emerges when communities become active participants in shaping policies that affect their lives. Whether addressing caste discrimination, torture survivors' rehabilitation, women's rights, or public health concerns, the principle remains the same: human dignity must remain at the center of development.
The growing NCD crisis demands a similar rights-based approach. Prevention must reach villages, urban settlements, workers, youth, women, and marginalized communities—not only hospitals and policy forums.
A Call for Public Health Champions
On this World No Tobacco Day, PVCHR calls upon governments, medical institutions, educators, civil society organizations, media professionals, and citizens to become champions of public health.
Reducing tobacco consumption is one of the most effective ways to prevent NCDs and save lives. But achieving a tobacco-free India requires more than awareness campaigns. It requires sustained political commitment, evidence-based policies, community participation, and courageous leadership.
The fight against tobacco is ultimately a fight for the right to health, dignity, and life itself.
As India moves forward, the challenge before us is clear: transforming public concern into public policy and building a future where health is treated not as a privilege, but as a fundamental human right.
About PVCHR
The People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), founded by Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi and Shruti Nagvanshi in Varanasi, works to promote human rights, social justice, dignity, and inclusive development among marginalized communities through grassroots action, advocacy, and community empowerment.
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