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Statistics show that over 14 percent of Indian students are regular tobacco users, most of them beginning to smoke before the age of 18.

"Globally, most people start smoking before the age of 18, with almost a quarter of them beginning before the age of 10. The younger the children are when they first try smoking, the more likely they are to become regular tobacco users and the less likely they are to quit," the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

WHO has urged countries to ban tobacco advertisements completely since will be "a strong link between advertising and smoking in young people".

"The more aware and appreciative young people are of tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to smoke or say they intend to," the health researchers said.

Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) chief K. Srinath Reddy said the prevalence of tobacco use among school students is a cause of worry. Indian students use not just cigarettes but they consume also gutkha and bidi.

Reddy said the prevalence of tobacco use in the form of gutkha or bidi is higher in rural India than urban areas.

In the 15 to 49 age group 57 percent of Indian males and nearly 11 percent females consume tobacco, Reddy added.

Tobacco is the main cause of major ailments like cardiovascular problems, cancer and obstructive pulmonary diseases. Every minute, 10 people, including two Indians, lose their life due to tobacco related diseases across the globe.

"Currently, tobacco use causes one in 10 deaths among adults worldwide - more than five million people a year," the United Nation (UN) body said.

For to have a higher income tobacco companies push their products wherever youth can be easily accessed - in films, on the Internet, in fashion magazines and at music concerts.

Tobacco manufacturers are targeting countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Young people really don't have much of a chance when it comes to smoking. Cigarettes are all around them, most of their parents smoke, tobacco advertisements are everywhere, and even bus drivers on the way to school hold a cigarette in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.

What's more, smoking became ritualistic and traditional in these countries, where tobacco companies often means a tiny cup of strong.