More than the new and trendy alternatives, traditional tobacco products like cigarettes, bidis, and chewable tobacco are posing a silent crisis for India’s youth, significantly raising the risk of cancers like lung, mouth and throat, said health experts on Monday, calling out the need to step up the fight against these to push the fight against tobacco.

According to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 8.5 per cent of students aged 13-15 use tobacco, contributing to 1.3 million deaths annually.

With tobacco linked to 90 per cent of lung cancer cases, the experts warned that this overlooked epidemic demands immediate action beyond the vaping debate.