In the Battle Against Tobacco, Policies Alone are Not Sufficient, Some Ills are Lurking Behind the Shadows

Tobacco consumption has long outgrown the boundaries of individual choice to become a wider public health and cultural concern, sustained not merely through addiction, but through aspiration. For decades, some of India’s most recognisable public figures have, directly or otherwise, participated in building that aspiration. And who are most at the receiving end of it? – mostly the middle class and the youth.

If conventional advertising once sold cigarettes openly through glamour, rebellion, and masculinity, surrogate advertising perfected the art of invisibility, preserving the same brand memory through music CDs, elaichi labels, lifestyle events, and carefully diluted associations that bypass regulation while retaining influence.

In a country where celebrity culture often shapes consumer behaviour more effectively than policy or regulation itself, the responsibility carried by public figures has always extended far beyond entertainment. Although there is always this parallel debate put forth by many that them endorsing anything on screen might not have a direct impact on the ills of society, the consumer is always on the losing side.

Perhaps that is why a Sachin Tendulkar continues finding relevance every time conversations around tobacco or liquor advertising re-emerge. His long-standing refusal to associate not only with tobacco products directly, but even with surrogate extensions linked to them, was never projected as any spectacle. Yet over time, that restraint has come to represent one of the clearest examples of responsible celebrity conduct in Indian public life.

The danger of surrogate advertising lies precisely in its subtlety. It is no longer speculative. Increasingly, medical experts and policymakers have begun acknowledging the role celebrity-led surrogate promotions play in normalising tobacco-linked consumption patterns. A 2025 discussion in the Rajya Sabha called for stricter enforcement against surrogate advertising and stronger restrictions on celebrity endorsements tied to harmful products.

Recent studies have also underlined how deeply embedded these promotions remain in India’s sporting and entertainment ecosystem. A 2025 study published in Frontiers in Digital Health observed that surrogate tobacco advertisements formed a significant share of unhealthy advertising during major cricket broadcasts, with celebrity endorsements by film stars and cricketers featuring prominently.

The larger global context makes this even more urgent. The World Health Organization’s latest global report notes that while the number of tobacco users worldwide has declined from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, one in five adults globally still remains addicted to tobacco. Progress has undoubtedly been made, particularly through sustained public health interventions, taxation policies, graphic warnings, and tighter advertising regulations across several countries. Yet nicotine addiction itself continues to evolve rather than disappear.

In high-income countries such as the United States, cigarette smoking has steadily declined over the years due to aggressive tobacco-control efforts. But addiction has increasingly shifted towards alternative nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes and vaping devices. The WHO has already warned that emerging nicotine products risk creating “a new wave of nicotine addiction”, especially among younger populations.

Even policy outcomes remain complex. A 2025 systematic review published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, analysing 24 studies on Tobacco 21 laws that raised the legal age for tobacco sales to 21, found largely limited or subgroup-specific effects on reducing youth tobacco use overall. The lesson emerging globally is clear: legislation alone cannot fully address addiction unless accompanied by sustained cultural and behavioural change.
And culture, more often than not, is shaped by visibility. This is why the choices made by public figures matter disproportionately. Celebrities may not be policymakers, but they are undeniably behavioural reference points for millions. In societies with young populations and rapidly expanding digital ecosystems, endorsement itself becomes a form of social validation.

Sachin understood this influence remarkably early. For an entire generation growing up in the 1990s and 2000s, he represented something rare in Indian public life with his grace and conviction. The kind of trust he was and is able to gain even today from parents, elders, and children, alike, are unmatched. That credibility was not built overnight through branding exercises; it emerged gradually through years of visible restraint.

Which is why his refusal to lend even indirect legitimacy to tobacco-linked promotions carries weight far beyond advertising contracts declined behind closed doors.

India today stands at a difficult intersection. Public awareness around tobacco harms has undoubtedly improved, yet surrogate advertising continues finding newer formats and younger audiences. Digital media has expanded the reach of celebrity influence far beyond television screens. At the same time, smokeless tobacco products and nicotine-linked consumption remain deeply embedded across sections of society.

In such a moment, revisiting Sachin Tendulkar’s position is not merely an exercise in nostalgia. It is a reminder that public influence can still be exercised with responsibility.