According to the current Lancet Global Health Research Review on the Global Impact of Tobacco Control Policies on Smokeless Tobacco Use, Indias efforts to reduce smokeless tobacco use were called "exemplary."

The review revealed that India has taken a comprehensive approach to tackling the use of smokeless tobacco products. It revealed that the measures taken by India aligned with the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), which includes taxation, regulation of contents, labeling, and packaging, education campaigns, cessation services, restrictions on sale to and by minors, and a ban on the sale and manufacture of smokeless tobacco products such as gutkha.

According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2, which was performed in 2016–17, the total prevalence of tobacco users in India was 28.6%, with smokeless tobacco users accounting for 21.38%. The figures have decreased from the last study, GATS 1, which reported 34.6% overall tobacco users and 25.9% smokeless tobacco users.

The Lancet analysis is the first to analyze the global impact of tobacco control strategies on smokeless tobacco usage. The research found that 57 nations have established laws particularly targeting smokeless tobacco, with 17 of them having rules that go beyond the limits of the World Health Organisations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The research showed that policies framed based on the WHO FCTC have reduced smokeless tobacco prevalence by 4.4% to 30.3% for taxes and by 22.2% to 70.9% for multimodal approaches. The review findings also revealed the broad implementation of the WHO FCTCs Article 11 (pictorial health warnings) and Article 13 (tobacco marketing, promotion, and sponsorship prohibition). 

(Source:https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indias-exemplary-efforts-in-curbing-smokeless-tobacco-use-praised-by-lancet-global-health-research-review-101685472294880.html )