India’s Changing Asbestos Narrative
Public, professional and political opposition is growing in India, the world’s biggest asbestos market, to the country’s massive use of a mineral classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 carcinogen. More and more medical experts are now willing to publicly ask uncomfortable questions about the role played by asbestos in the country’s explosion of cancer mortality. According to official data, in 2024, 98,000 people in India died from lung cancer, a disease caused not only by smoking but also by exposures to asbestos and other toxins.1
Other salient facts about the incidence of lung cancer in India include:
- lung cancer is the most common cancer in Indian males;
- in 2025, there were ~100 million adult smokers in India;2
- new cases of lung cancer diagnosed each year constitute almost 6% of all India’s cancer diagnoses and lung cancer deaths account for 8.1 % of all cancer-related mortality;3
- in recent years, the median age at diagnosis was 64; between 2005 and 2022, the proportion of female cases rose significantly (from 20.1 % to 28.4 %), while male cases declined proportionately;4
- “there are regional disparities in the lung cancer burden… while low mortality to incidence ratio suggests underreported mortality, underscoring the need for better death reporting”;5
- epidemiologists predicted (2025) that lung cancer cases would increase in India until 2030.6
There is no question of the huge public health burden that lung cancer constitutes in India.
To mark World Lung Cancer Day 2026 (August 1), several news features and commentaries highlighted the elevated national incidence of lung cancer and examined possible explanations for why increasing numbers of non-smokers and other people classified as “low-risk” were contracting lung cancer in India.
 Asbestos-cement products and off-cuts are widely used for roofing in India. Photograph reproduced with the permission of Hein du Plessis. |
According to multiple texts, the profile of lung cancer patients in India is changing with “women, younger people, and even those who have never smoked before… patients who do not fall into the traditional high-risk groups for lung cancer” being diagnosed.7 Explaining the data underlying the change in lung cancer demographics in India, Dr Sandeep Nayak, Chairman of Oncology from the KIMS Hospital in Bangalore, wrote:
“The observation from population data shows a clear shift in lung cancer demographics from being pure smoking related cancer towards being seen among nonsmokers. Globally, non-smoker lung cancer accounts for 10% to 25% of cases, but in India, clinical registries indicate that up to 30% to 50% of new lung cancer patients have never smoked a single cigarette. A decade ago, the overwhelming majority of patients presenting with lung cancers were older male heavy smokers diagnosed with a type of cancer called squamous cell. Today, oncologists are seeing an increasing number of non-smoking women and younger adults, especially in India, diagnosed primarily with type of cancer called adenocarcinoma.”8
Discussing the changing demographics, medical experts noted that exposure to workplace and domestic toxins – such as asbestos – played a contributory role in lung cancer causation and opportunities for such exposures were commonplace:
“India is the world’s largest importer of asbestos … using it commonly in cement pipes, roofing sheets and brake linings. Most of what comes in is chrysotile, or white asbestos, imported mainly from Russia and Kazakhstan… There is also an entrenched domestic industry and workforce built around it, which is part of why successive governments have resisted a full ban.”9
In his August 1 commentary, written in Hindi, Dr. Ajay Verma – Head of the Department of Respiratory (Pulmonary) Medicine at Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh – highlighted the link between asbestos exposure and lung cancer: “Asbestos is a proven human carcinogen, which is a cancer-causing substance … [causing] cancers like lung cancer and mesothelioma.”10 Verma confirmed that asbestos was commonly used in the manufacture of roofing sheets, pipes, brakes, gaskets and other industrial products. As there were no requirements in India to remediate structures being renovated/demolished or ships being scrapped, workers at demolition sites and ship-breaking yards were, Dr Verma wrote, at high-risk. In addition, exposures to naturally occurring asbestos were routine during marble and soapstone mining operations.11
Even government officials, not all but some, accept that asbestos-contamination of the built environment is not a boon to citizens’ health. In March 2025, India’s Minister of State for School Education Jayant Singh outlawed the use of asbestos in government-run public schools managed by major federal school systems – the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas – under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. Minister Singh was resolute in his backing for this ban and urged all states to “take proactive steps to eliminate asbestos from their schools and private institutions ensuring a healthier, cancer-free future for our children.”12
 Indian Ministry of Education social media posts 2025. |
The state-owned national railway system of India – Indian Railways – recently reported that work to eradicate asbestos roofing from the country’s 7,000 railway stations had been completed.13
There is no question that asbestos vested interests in India are aware of the global trends which have reduced asbestos consumption from 1.9 million metric tonnes (t) in 2020 to 960,000t in 2025, a fall of almost 50%.14 In 2024 an article in India’s Financial Express reported that:
“Considering the moderate growth prospects of the asbestos FC [fiber cement] industry, there are no major capex [capital expenditure] plans in the pipeline for the top five players in the medium term... The key players are moving towards de-risking their business profiles by entering non-asbestos segments due to regulatory risks associated with the threat of a ban on the usage of these products and on the mining of asbestos in the producing countries.”15
Of course, lung cancer is not the only disease caused by asbestos exposures and there can be no doubt that if/when the authorities investigate they will find increasing numbers of patients with mesothelioma – the signature asbestos cancer – cancers of the larynx and ovaries, asbestosis and pleural thickening. All of these diseases can be debilitating and most can and do cause premature death. The data on the national explosion in lung cancer incidence should be a wakeup call for Indian civil society as well as national regulators. The time has come for asbestos use to be phased out – it is a matter of life and death.
August 6, 2026
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1 हुक्का और ई-सिगरेट से बढ़ रहा लंग कैंसर:KGMU विशेषज्ञों ने युवाओं को किया आगाह, एक्सपर्ट्स बोले- एक हुक्के में 20-25 सिगरेट जितना धुआं [Hookah and e-cigarettes are increasing lung cancer: KGMU experts warned youth, saying a hookah contains as much smoke as 20-25 cigarettes.] August 1, 2026.
https://www.bhaskar.com/amp/local/uttar-pradesh/lucknow/news/kgmu-lucknow-experts-warning-hookah-e-cigarette-lung-cancer-risk-138595137.html
2 Ramnath, N., Gasesan, P. Lung cancer screening in India: Preparing for the future using smart tools & biomarkers to identify highest risk individuals. January 2025.
https://ijmr.org.in/lung-cancer-screening-in-india-preparing-for-the-future-using-smart-tools-biomarkers-to-identify-highest-risk-individuals/
3 Mehta, A.M., Keechilat, P. et al. Epidemiological and histopathological profile of lung Cancer: Insights from a 15-year cross-sectional study at a tertiary care centre in South India. June 2025.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590113325000264
4Ibid.
5Ibid.
6 Mallikarjun, S. How to cut risk of lung cancer. August 2, 2026.
The most effective approach to protecting your lung health is to stay away from tobacco exposure. August 2, 2026.
https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/health/healthcare/how-to-cut-risk-of-lung-cancer-4094297
George, J.E., George, S.P. Region-wise lung cancer burden, long-term trend & time-series forecasts in India: An analytical study by age, gender, & morphology. 2025.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12826388/
7 World Lung Cancer Day: Why more women and non-smokers are being diagnosed with lung cancer. August 1, 2026.
https://www.firstpost.com/health/world-lung-cancer-day-why-more-women-and-non-smokers-are-being-diagnosed-with-lung-cancer-14035221.html/amp
World Lung Cancer Day: भारत में लंग कैंसर के 50% मरीज नॉन स्मोकर्स, फिर क्यों हो रहे बीमार? [World Lung Cancer Day: 50% of lung cancer patients in India are non-smokersso why are they falling ill?]. August 1, 2026.
https://www.abplive.com/lifestyle/health/world-lung-cancer-day-why-non-smokers-are-getting-lung-cancer-in-india-tests-and-risk-factors-3168812
8 Tiwari, A. World Lung Cancer Day 2026: Why more non-smokers are getting diagnosed. August 1, 2026.
https://zeenews.india.com/health/world-lung-cancer-day-2026-why-more-non-smokers-are-getting-diagnosed-3064142
9 Kapoor, S.M. India never had the J&J scare. It has a bigger asbestos problem, everywhere else. July 29, 2026.
https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/johnson-johnson-talc-settlement-us-baby-powder-case-india-asbestos-risk-2959140-2026-07-29
Gujarat sees steady rise in lung cancer cases, tobacco remains key risk factor. August 2, 2026.
https://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/health-and-fitness/article/gujarat-sees-steady-rise-in-lung-cancer-cases-tobacco-remains-key-risk-factor-23642795
10 English translation of Hindi commentary by Dr Ajay Verma: On World Lung Cancer Day, experts warn of the dangers. August 1, 2026.
No online link found. Text supplied in hard copy.
11 Kapoor, S.M. India never had the J&J scare. It has a bigger asbestos problem, everywhere else. July 29, 2026.
https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/johnson-johnson-talc-settlement-us-baby-powder-case-india-asbestos-risk-2959140-2026-07-29
12 Kazan-Allen, L. Spring 2025: Hope and Where to Find it! April 22, 2025.
https://www.ibasecretariat.org/lka-spring-2025-hope-and-where-to-find-it.php
13 Kapoor, S.M. India never had the J&J scare. It has a bigger asbestos problem, everywhere else. July 29, 2026.
https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/johnson-johnson-talc-settlement-us-baby-powder-case-india-asbestos-risk-2959140-2026-07-29
Shankar, P. Why does India still use and trade asbestos? December 12, 2022.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/12/why-does-india-continue-trading-asbestos
14 United States Geological Survey (USGS). Mineral Commodity Summaries. 2001. Asbestos. Accessed August 5, 2026.
https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/mineral-pubs/asbestos/070301.pdf
USGS. Mineral Commodity Summaries. 2026. Asbestos. Accessed August 5, 2026.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-asbestos.pdf
15 Kazan-Allen, L. India Transitioning to Asbestos-Free Technology. July 5, 2024.Top of Form
http://ibasecretariat.org/lka-blogzxa223.php
