Every year on May 31, World No Tobacco Day serves as a global wake-up call to the grave dangers of tobacco consumption. Initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1987 and formalized in 1988, this day aims to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and push for effective policies to reduce its consumption. This year’s theme, “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products,” takes a bold stand against deceptive marketing strategies that present vaping and other nicotine products as “safer” alternatives to traditional tobacco.

This narrative, although seductive, is not just misleading—it’s dangerous.

Also Read: World No Tobacco Day 2025 Theme

Why Vaping is Seen as a “Healthier” Substitute?

Public health campaigns had, for a while, reason to celebrate. Decades of anti-smoking efforts were showing results, with fewer people lighting up cigarettes. The drop in cigarette smoking was hailed as a victory for preventive healthcare. But the rise of e-cigarettes—sleek, flavored, and aggressively marketed—has reversed some of that progress.

Originally touted as a cessation aid or a “less harmful” nicotine delivery method, vaping quickly evolved into a cultural trend, especially among youth. While traditional smoking rates declined, vaping became the most common method of nicotine consumption among adolescents, replacing rather than eliminating tobacco use.

“Vaping is not harmless,” warns Dr. Arun Chowdary Kotaru, Head and Senior Consultant of Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine. “Even if it may contain fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes, it still delivers a cocktail of harmful substances that are anything but safe.”

At the heart of both smoking and vaping is nicotine—a highly addictive stimulant that alters brain chemistry. E-cigarettes typically contain this substance, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not only fuels addiction but also impairs adolescent brain development.

“The teenage brain is still developing until around the age of 25,” explains Dr. Kotaru. “Nicotine interferes with areas responsible for learning, impulse control, and mood regulation. Early exposure can also set the stage for a lifelong struggle with addiction, increasing vulnerability to other substance abuse later in life.”

It’s not just youth who are affected. Pregnant women who vape put their unborn children at risk, as nicotine restricts blood flow to the placenta, potentially leading to low birth weight and other complications.

What’s in a Vape?

Many people assume that switching from cigarettes to vaping means fewer chemicals entering the body. That’s not entirely accurate. While e-cigarettes may contain fewer carcinogens than combustible cigarettes, the aerosol (not vapor) inhaled from vaping devices contains a toxic mix.

According to the CDC and corroborated by Dr. Kotaru, this aerosol may include:

• Heavy metals like lead, nickel, and tin
• Volatile organic compounds that are linked to cancer
• Flavoring chemicals, notably diacetyl, associated with “popcorn lung” or bronchiolitis obliterans
• Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs

“Inhaling these substances directly into the lungs introduces not just nicotine, but also numerous potentially carcinogenic and lung-damaging compounds,” Dr. Kotaru adds. “This is not harm reduction—it’s harm diversification.”

Are Flavors and Packaging Hooking the Next Generation?

One of the most alarming strategies employed by the vaping industry is flavoring. Youth-friendly flavors like mango, cotton candy, and mint make vaping palatable—and appealing—to teenagers and young adults. As of late 2023, over 6,000 vaping products were available in the U.S., many in disposable formats that are brightly colored and easy to conceal.

These products are not just accessible—they're marketed with the kind of sophistication once seen in cigarette advertisements from the 1950s and ’60s, before regulation cracked down. The industry's tactics seem designed to normalize vaping, glamorize nicotine, and downplay the risks.

Myth of “Harm Reduction” and Dual Use

Proponents of vaping often cite “harm reduction” as a justification, suggesting that e-cigarettes are a stepping stone to quitting. While this may hold true for a subset of adult smokers under medical guidance, the reality is more complicated.

Dual use—where individuals both vape and smoke traditional cigarettes—is increasingly common. This behavior does not reduce harm but rather amplifies exposure to toxic chemicals. According to public health experts, dual users may suffer worse respiratory outcomes compared to those who stick to one method alone.

“People assume they're cutting down on cigarettes by vaping,” says Dr. Kotaru. “But in reality, they’re compounding the risk by layering one addiction on top of another.”

Campuses across the U.S. are grappling with the rising incidence of vaping among students. Once confined to restrooms and dorm rooms, the use of e-cigarettes has crept into classrooms, cafeterias, and even public events.

Behavioral health reports from school districts, such as the 2024 Wood County Youth Behavioral Health Barometer, indicate that vaping is often seen as harmless among teens—a perception that public health advocates are racing to correct. Educational campaigns are now targeting youth directly, enlisting students in peer-led interventions to counteract the flood of misinformation on social media and among friends.

“Safer” Doesn’t Mean Safe

The narrative that e-cigarettes are a “safer” alternative to smoking needs to be critically examined and, in many cases, flatly rejected. Public health isn’t a race to the lesser of two evils. It’s a pursuit of well-being grounded in evidence, prevention, and transparency.

While vaping may have a role in helping some adult smokers transition away from combustible tobacco under strict supervision, the broad marketing of these devices—especially to youth—is a threat to global health.

On this World No Tobacco Day, let’s unmask the illusions, expose the tactics, and recommit to a nicotine-free future. The risks are real. The science is clear. “Safer” isn’t safe—and we should stop pretending otherwise.

Dr. Arun Chowdary Kotaru, Head and Senior Consultant, Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine, Artemis Hospitals

Bajau Sea Nomads have evolved beyond human limits. But how is that even possible? Remember Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection? The survival of the fittest? This is what kept the Bajau Sea Noamds going, and evolving.

The Bajau people are sea nomads who survive by collecting shellfish from the sea floor. They come from South-East Asia, and study shows that they have developed bigger spleen for diving. They are known as 'Sea Gypsies' and are known to hold their breath for over five minutes, whereas highly trained professionals can hardly hold their breath for three to four minutes. Bajau divers spend hours underwater for fishing. They are also the world's only community of self-sufficient sea nomads, reported The Guardian.

How The Bajau Sea Nomads Evolved: What Does The Study Say?

A study published in the academic journal Cell notes that the effect of their underwater lifestyle reflected on their biology. Their spleens were larger than those of other people from the region.

How The Bajau Sea Nomads Evolved: How Does A Spleen Work?

Tucked just beside the stomach, the spleen is roughly the size of a fist and usually flies under the radar. Its everyday job is to filter old red blood cells from the blood. But under the right conditions, it can also act like a built-in oxygen reserve.

This hidden ability is especially important for the Bajau people, often called “sea nomads,” who live across parts of the southern Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Numbering roughly a million, the Bajau have relied almost entirely on the ocean for generations.

“For possibly thousands of years, they have been living on houseboats, travelling from place to place in the waters of South-East Asia and visiting land only occasionally,” said Melissa Ilardo from the University of Copenhagen, speaking to the BBC’s Inside Science. “Everything they need, they get from the sea.”

Read: A Genetic Disorder Caused This Indonesian Tribe To Have Sparkling Blue Eyes

How The Bajau Sea Nomads Have Evolved?

The Bajau are known for their extraordinary free-diving abilities. When diving in the traditional way, they spend up to eight hours a day at sea, with around 60 percent of that time underwater. Individual dives can last anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes, often reaching depths of more than 70 metres.

What makes this even more remarkable is the equipment. Many Bajau divers use little more than a wooden mask or simple goggles and a weight belt. No oxygen tanks, no wetsuits, no modern diving aids.

This lifestyle prompted researchers to ask whether the Bajau body has adapted over time to support such extreme breath-hold diving.

According to Dr Ilardo, the spleen was an obvious place to look. Humans, like many marine mammals, have a natural “dive response” that kicks in when we hold our breath and submerge ourselves in water, especially cold water.

“When this response is triggered, your heart rate slows down,” she explained. “Blood vessels in your arms and legs constrict to preserve oxygen-rich blood for vital organs like the brain and heart.”

The final part of this response involves the spleen.

How The Bajau Sea Nomads Evolved: An enlarged Spleen Boosts Oxygen

The spleen acts as a reservoir for oxygenated red blood cells. When it contracts during a dive, it releases these cells into the bloodstream, giving the body a temporary oxygen boost.

“It’s like a biological scuba tank,” Dr Ilardo said.

For people like the Bajau, who dive repeatedly every day, this spleen contraction can make a crucial difference, helping them stay underwater longer and recover faster between dives.

In short, what seems like an ordinary organ plays an extraordinary role, revealing how the human body can adapt in remarkable ways to extreme environments.

One child in India dies every nine minutes from an infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as it becomes one of the top 10 global public health threats, experts warn.

Dr HB Veena Kumari of the Department of Neuromicrobiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, claims: "The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to rising antimicrobial resistance. The World Health Organisation projects that 10 million deaths will occur annually by 2025."

According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria in the body learns to withstand and remain unaffected by the medicines (antibiotics) meant to kill them.

In such cases, doctors have to switch to different antibiotics, but these backup medicines might not work as well or might cause more side effects. Additionally, infections may also worsen over time as bacteria can become resistant to all available drugs.

Alarmingly is that these tough, drug-resistant bacteria can spread from one person to another, both in hospitals and at home.

According to Dr TS Balganesh, Gangagen Biotechnologies, nearly 36 percent of haemodialysis patients die from fatal infections, which is second only to cardiovascular diseases as a cause of death.

He tells Deccan Herald: "The risk for infective endocarditis in haemodialysis patients is approximately 18 times higher than in the general population and up to 58 percent of these episodes are caused by a bacteria named 'S aureus', with an in-hospital mortality of more than 50 percent."

What Does WHO Say?

One out of every six serious infections confirmed in labs worldwide last year could not be killed by the antibiotics meant to treat them.

Between 2018 and 2023, the problem of antibiotics failing (called resistance) got much worse. For many common types of germs, resistance went up by 5% to 15% every year. The growing inability of these essential medicines to work is a huge threat to people everywhere.

Which Antibiotics Are People Becoming Resistant To?

The WHO's latest report is the most detailed look yet at this issue. It reports on how much resistance exists across 22 different antibiotics, which include common drugs used to treat everyday illnesses. The report focused on eight common types of bacteria that cause things like:

• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Stomach and intestinal infections
• Dangerous blood infections
• Gonorrhoea

Additionally, Dr Obaidur Rahman of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has also warned that the country’s casual use of Azithromycin, sold under brand names such as Zithromax, Azee and Zmax, has worsened its effectiveness and pushed India closer to a major public health challenge.

A drug often prescribed for sore throats and upper respiratory tract infections, Dr Rahman noted that Azithromycin was once effective against Mycoplasma Pneumonia, a bacterium responsible for pneumonia in adults and children.

READ MORE: India’s New Antibiotic in 30 Years Offers Hope Against Antibacterial-Resistant Infections

However, this is no longer the case as India now shows an alarming 80 to 90 percent resistance to the drug when treating infections caused by this bacterium. A medicine that once addressed a wide range of respiratory problems is no longer reliable for many patients.

The surgeon has since urged people to avoid taking antibiotics without proper medical advice. Most seasonal respiratory infections resolve on their own, and unnecessary drugs only add to the resistance problem.

Supreme Court on Friday declared the right to menstrual health as part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court issued a slew of directions to ensure that every school provides biodegradable sanitary napkins free of cost to adolescent girls. The guidelines also ensured that schools must be equipped with functional and hygienic gender-segregated toilets. The Court directed the pan-India implementation of the Union's national policy, 'Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls' in schools for adolescent girl children from Classes 6-12.

Read: Menopause Clinics Explained: Latest Launch By Maharashtra And Kerala Government

Supreme Court Declares Menstrual Hygiene As Part Of Right To Life: Here Are the Directions

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan passed the following directions:

• All States/UT must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, is provided with functional gender segregated toilets with usable water connectivity.
• All existing or newly constructed toilets in schools shall be designed, constructed and maintained to ensure privacy and accessibility, including by catering to needs of children with disabilities.
• All school toilets must be equipped with functional washing facilities and soap and water available at all times.
• All states/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, provide oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins manufactured in compliance with the ASTM D-6954 standards free of cost. Such sanitary napkins must be made readily accessible to girl students, preferably within toilet premises through sanitary napkin vending machines or, where not visible, at a designated place.
• All States/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas establish menstrual hygiene management corners. It must be equipped with spare innerwears, uniforms, disposable pads and other necessary materials to address menstrual urgency.

The court also issued directions for the disposal of sanitary waste. Justice Pardiwala said, "This pronouncement is not just for stakeholders of the legal system. It is also meant for classrooms where girls hesitate to ask for help. It is for teachers who want to help but are restrained due to a lack of resources. And it is for parents who may not realise the impact of their silence and for society to establish its progress as a measure in how we protect the most vulnerable. We wish to communicate to every girlchild who may have become a victim of absenteeism because her body was perceived as a burden when the fault is not hers."

Read: Menstrual Cups To Replace Sanitary Napkins In Karnataka Government Schools

Why Is This Judgment So Important?

In India, menstruation is still seen as taboo. In fact, there is a lot of shame around it. Menstrual shame is the deeply internalized stigma, embarrassment, and negative perception surrounding menstruation, which causes individuals to feel unclean, or "less than" for a natural biological process. This judgment thus is an effort to do away with the shame rooted in cultural, social, and religious taboos, which is often the reason why many girls drop out, or due to lack of awareness, develop health adversities.