New Delhi, Oct. 26 -- In what has sounded warning bells among Indian public policy makers, the Union government has been getting reports of children in some states starting to use tobacco as early as seven years of age, according to a senior government official and documents reviewed by Mint.

This comes in the backdrop of Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu having reported the highest number of violations. The development assumes significance given that tobacco remains a leading cause of death in India, killing 1.35 million people annually.

Based on the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2019, children in India start tobacco use with both smoked and smokeless forms, a finding highlighted in a 2024 World Health Org...