Tobacco Control Case Study: India

Sunita Tomar, from Madhya Pradesh, India, began using smokeless tobacco at the age of 22 and was diagnosed with mouth cancer just six years later, at the age of 28. Vital Strategies’ team met Sunita for the first time just before her operation and discussed collaborating with her on a testimonial campaign to warn others about the deadly harms of smokeless tobacco.

Sunita agreed to become the face of an anti-tobacco campaign. She narrated her own story, and a national mass media campaign titled “Sunita” was launched in August 2014. The mass media campaign was aired for a period of five weeks in 17 languages on government and private TV channels and radio stations across India.