India, July 15 -- Despite being Maharashtra's most populous city with over 12.7 million residents, Mumbai recorded only eight First Information Reports (FIRs) relating to banned tobacco-based substances between April 2024 and March 2025, which is very telling about their accessibility. This number falls short compared to smaller divisions such as Nagpur (103), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (88), Amravati (64), Nashik (50), Pune (41) and Thane (24).

Public health experts warn that this ban enforcement gap is directly fuelling a rise in oral and head-neck cancers, especially among the youth. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials blamed manpower shortage, but experts argue this shortfall has real, visible consequences.

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