Mumbai, Feb 27: The Mumbai centre of the National Tobacco Quitline Services (NTQLS) has helped a significant proportion of callers quit tobacco, even though it is able to attend only about 28 to 30 per cent of the calls it receives, according to a recent study assessing its performance and quit outcomes.
Capacity constraints and outcomes
The Quitline, launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Government of India, provides free telephonic counselling to individuals seeking to give up tobacco. The Mumbai centre operates from the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) and caters to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and three Union Territories.
The study found that of the total calls received by the centre, only around 28 to 30 per cent could be attended due to capacity constraints. Among those attended calls, approximately 16 to 17 per cent of callers went on to set a quit date.
Notably, of those who committed to a quit date, nearly 38 to 40 per cent successfully quit tobacco, highlighting the effectiveness of structured telephonic counselling. The centre receives over 4 lakh calls annually seeking to quit tobacco addiction.
Researchers observed that while the demand for cessation services remains consistently high, limited staffing and infrastructure restrict the number of callers who can access counselling support. They stressed that expanding capacity could significantly enhance tobacco cessation outcomes.
Tobacco burden and need for services
Tobacco use continues to be one of the leading modifiable risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), contributing to over 8 million deaths globally each year.
In India, the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2) reported that more than half of smokers expressed willingness to quit, and over one-third had made a quit attempt in the previous year. These findings underline the need for accessible and scalable cessation services.
Factors influencing quit success
The study also examined factors influencing quit success using statistical analysis. Individuals who had no previous quit attempts were significantly more likely to quit successfully.
Those who never consumed alcohol and those who used tobacco 6–30 minutes or 30–60 minutes after waking showed higher quit rates compared to individuals who used tobacco within five minutes of waking, an indicator of higher nicotine dependence.
On the other hand, certain groups were less likely to quit successfully. These included women callers; private sector employees compared to drivers, farmers and labourers; individuals consuming more than 10 tobacco units per day; those who had used tobacco for more than 10 years; individuals with higher annual expenditure on tobacco; and those without known comorbid conditions. Researchers suggested that greater nicotine dependence and occupational stress may partly explain these trends.
Expert view
The NTQLS follows WHO-recommended behavioural counselling approaches, including the 5 A’s and 5 R’s framework, delivered through structured counselling sessions and follow-up calls.
Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Director of ACTREC, said that quitting tobacco can greatly reduce the risk of oral cancer. Tobacco contains harmful chemicals that damage the cells in the mouth and can lead to cancer over time. When a person stops smoking or chewing tobacco, the risk gradually decreases and overall oral health improves.
Also Watch:
Public health experts believe that strengthening quitline infrastructure and increasing manpower could substantially improve quit rates, reduce the NCD burden, and accelerate India’s progress towards tobacco control goals.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
