Please don’t frown when you see a kid at the opposite end of a cigarette, for it is estimated that everyday about 55,000 children under 15 years of age start their tryst with different variants of tobacco in India. Not only that, the ubiquitous gutka (promoted as harmless mouth freshener) has alarmingly become a hot favourite among children. An Indian Dental Association survey has revealed that about 20% to 40% of school going children and more than 70% of college students in Mumbai are addicted to gutka. As the initiation begins at an early age, such usage might as well be the precursor to the oral cancer epidemic. It is terrifying to note that tobacco causes approximately 8 lakh annual deaths and also an annual spending up to Rs 278 billion on the diseases that it causes (estimated by ICMR). One important reason for this menace has been the influence of the faulty role models on the vulnerable generation. This fashion influenced by both reel and real life icons definitely leaves an indelible mark on the minds of growing children.