Struggling to quit tobacco? You're not alone—28.6% Indians (267 million) aged 15 years and older use tobacco in some form. Nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive, making quitting tough. Tobacco use causes 1.3 million deaths in India each year, according to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
But help is available – MoHFW’s toll-free National Tobacco QuitLine (1800-112-356) offers free counselling and support to those looking to quit tobacco. Trained counsellors providing evidence-based support, personalized cessation plans and follow-ups in English, Hindi and over 15 regional Indian languages to help callers end their addiction to all forms of tobacco use.
Launched in 2016 to mark the World No Tobacco Day, the national-level tobacco cessation quit line operates from Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI) in Delhi. According to a VPCI report, over 650 000 unique callers were assisted between June 2016 and April 2026. Of them, 43% callers reported to be self-employed, 75.85% had no family history of tobacco use, while 68.63% used smokeless tobacco. Sustained counselling has helped over one in three (34.5%) of these callers to quit tobacco use.
Young adults are the most successful in overcoming their addiction, shows VPCI data on National Tobacco QuitLine Services calls between May 2016 and April 2024. Nearly 47% of young adults in the age group of 18–24 years quit tobacco, making them the largest group of callers who stopped tobacco use following counselling.
Since 2018, counselling services have been expanded to three regional satellite centres — Dr Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati; National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Bengaluru; and Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai – where support is also provided in local languages.
“India’s Tobacco QuitLine is a cornerstone of the National Tobacco Control Programme. Quitting isn’t just willpower—our experts address psychological and behavioural addiction drivers, providing strategies to manage cravings and beat withdrawal,” says Dr Raj Kumar, Director, VPCI, who received the WHO World No Tobacco Day Award in 2019 for his work on tobacco control.
WHO’s MPOWER measures turn tobacco control into action: monitor tobacco use, protect people with smoke-free laws, offer quitting support, warn through graphic health warnings and bold campaigns, enforce advertisement bans, and raise taxes. Grounded in evidence and the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control, they empower nations to cut demand, expand cessation support, and end the tobacco epidemic.
/countries/india/quit-tobaccode596e8a-5a70-4c46-964b-f5c8d66b8f0d.jpg?sfvrsn=61625217_4 "quit tobacco")
(Representative image)
No judgement. Just support.
QuitLine calls are voluntary and follow a structured cessation plan. Tobacco users connect with trained counsellors who register, assess and provide interventions using the 5A's (ask, advise, assess, assist, arrange), 5R's (relevance, risks, rewards, roadblocks, repetition), trigger recognition, tobacco education and coping skills.
In line with WHO-recommended protocols, counsellors consult callers to set quit dates, with pre-quit, post-quit, and follow-up calls—including motivational counselling—to prevent relapse.
Tele-support services are convenient, economical and scalable. People can call from anywhere for tips and counselling support— no travel is needed. The semi-anonymous call format enables fast, structured and thorough discussions.
Counsellors at VPCI Delhi have inspiring stories of tobacco users successfully quitting with QuitLine support. "Work pressure, family issues, anxiety, social conformity, or the misconception that tobacco use is 'cool' drives many adults and youth to tobacco," says Himani, a counsellor (name changed to protect privacy).
Stop today for instant gains.
The benefits of cessation are almost instant. Quitting smoking delivers rapid and lasting health benefits: Within 20 minutes, heart rate and blood pressure drop; after 12 hours, blood carbon monoxide normalizes. Circulation and lung function improve in two to 12 weeks, with less coughing and shortness of breath by one-nine months. After one year, coronary heart disease risk halves; by five years, stroke risk matches a nonsmoker's; 10 years halves the risk of cancers of the lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas; and in 15 years, coronary risk is the same as a nonsmoker.
So why wait? Call now and reclaim your life. Encourage family, friends and colleagues looking to overcome their addiction to call 1800-112-356 for professional support.