More than 410 thousand hectares of good agricultural land is under tobacco cultivation. It is estimated that in India, about 1.2 million people are involved in tobacco cultivation and farming and the cigarette industry provides employment to about 0.5 million people. Bidi manufacturing is the biggest cottage industry in India employing about 3 million people spread all over the country. Thus 5 million people are directly or indirectly in the tobacco trade. Hence, alternative use of tobacco as well as employment opportunities are the need of the hour.
Tobacco is used in various forms in India.
It is smoked through cigarettes, hukka, bidi and cigar. Chewing it with pan or betel leaves is also very popular in India. In recent years, a chewing ingredient called pan masala has also become very popular which is smokeless but quite damaging. It is also estimated that about 30 per cent of the total consumption of tobacco in India is in various smokeless forms. Oral cancers account for about 35 per cent of all cancer cases for males in India.