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Article History

Received: 30 June 2025

Accepted: 23 June 2026

First Online: 2 July 2026

Declarations

:

: The data used in this study are de-identified public-domain data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), available through the Global Tobacco Surveillance System data repository. These data can be accessed via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global Tobacco Surveillance System Data portal: . Ethical approval for secondary data analysis was obtained from the Public Health Foundation of India Institutional Ethics Committee (Ref. TRC-IEC 479/21). This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and adhered to the principles of ethical research using secondary data.This study was conducted using secondary data that is publicly available and anonymized at the time of access. As no primary data collection involving human participants was undertaken, and the dataset does not contain identifiable personal information, formal consent to participate was not required.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.