Alternative Policies for Tobacco Control in India

India is positioned as second only to China and Brazil apropos tobacco consumption and production, respectively. This paper examines India's tobacco epidemic - affecting 270 million users and imposing over USD 35 billion in annual economic costs through health, social, and environmental burdens; synthesizes the literature on these multifaceted impacts, as well as existing global policies for demerit goods; to then identify and suggest a dual-pronged alternative policy approach that could be employed in India’s war against tobacco: complementary harm-reduction and cessation policies that address consumption and demand, augmented by production curtailment strategies that address supply.