Near Chennai schools, a dangerous mix of tobacco, alcohol and vulnerable children

CHENNAI: Vyasarpadi, Kannakinagar, Pattalam and parts of Otteri, few of Chennai’s oldest working-class neighborhoods, wake early. By sunrise, the streets are already humming with cycles, auto-rickshaws, and vendors. Yet just a few steps from a corporation school, another scene unfolds — men crouched on the edge of a playground, passing beedis, sometimes liquor bottles hidden in plastic covers. When the school bell rings, the smoke hangs heavy in the air, said Manimegalai, a school-going student from North Chennai.

Across several schools visited in north Chennai, Tamil Nadu, the picture was disturbingly similar. At one higher secondary school near Perambur, the playground was littered with empty beer bottles and cigarette packets, hidden in the shrubs behind the classrooms. In a Tamil Nadu government-aided school in Vyasarpadi, students said they often have to clear broken glass before starting a game of football. Teachers pointed to a locked storeroom at the edge of the campus that had become a hangout for older boys who no longer attended classes.

In yet another school near Vadachennai, used syringes were strewn near the entrance gate, while heaps of discarded liquor sachets were seen along the side walls. Parents said they often hesitated to send their younger children to school alone, worried about the groups that loitered outside selling cigarettes and small pouches of beedi.

“We see people drinking in the corner of our ground. Sometimes they fight, sometimes they leave bottles and packets scattered,” said a Class 9 student from a government-aided school near North Chennai. “For us, this is what we walk past every day — and it’s not something we can just ignore.”

Teenagers admit that exposure has left an imprint. “Some of my classmates try smoking for fun, saying if adults do it so openly, why shouldn’t we? Teachers warn us, but it’s everywhere around us,” said Shri (name changed), a Class 8 student. He also said that the tuition classes he goes to have a very similar atmosphere and not many people care to listen to teachers or fellow classmates.

The worry is not only about peer pressure. Many fear younger siblings are watching. “My sister is just in Class 5. When she sees people drinking outside the school wall, she asks if it is okay. That is how it starts,” said a boy studying in Class 11 who also worries about her safety when he isn't around.

A parent, Lakshmi (name changed), whose son studies in a nearby higher secondary school, said the environment itself is becoming unsafe. “Children see things they shouldn’t at this age. Even if they don’t touch alcohol or beedis now, it normalises the idea that these are part of daily life. That is dangerous.”

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The COTPA Act

Why does this happen so close to schools, despite clear laws? The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 banned the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of any educational institution. Tamil Nadu’s excise rules prohibit liquor sales near schools.

Yet in several parts of Chennai, petty shops and street-side vendors thrive just outside school walls, say parents, teachers and even students who spoke to Careers360.

“These are low-income areas. Selling single cigarettes or beedis is quick money. The men who drink often come after work or in the afternoons. No one dares to stop them,” said Rayan. H, a resident who lives near government aided schools in Kannakinagar and Pattalam.

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Teachers say they feel helpless. “We do our best to keep the campus clean, but outside the gate we cannot control. We have written to authorities many times. There are raids once in a while, but the problem comes back,” said a teacher, currently posted at a government school in north Chennai; she was previously in rural Nagapattinam.

‘Whole families impacted’

Akshara S., an NGO worker from Bengaluru, has closely studied the addiction cycle among adolescents in urban slums. "What begins with seemingly harmless experiments — a cigarette or gutka pouch shared outside school — quickly escalates into alcohol and in some cases even chemical inhalants," she said. This progression is a recognized pattern.

A government school teacher in north Chennai who has spoken to Akshara requesting anonymity, said, "We have lost at least five boys in the last three years to dropouts linked directly to addiction. Once they get into these groups, they stop attending classes, and the pressure on families becomes unbearable."

Just ask Charu and Murali. Parents of four children, they witnessed the impact of substance abuse from close quarters. “My eldest son is now working but it happened with great struggle given the area we live in. Here, in Vadachennai, the accessibility to almost all forms of substance abuse is just an over-the-counter exchange right from acids to cigarettes and more,” said Charu.

Her son Ramesh, the eldest, added, “For us, alcohol abuse and gang fights is a daily reality — the moment you step outside, you see students getting drawn into these circles, and when they come back home, they carry those habits and words with them.”

More than one parent told Careers360 they struggled to handle the verbal abuse at home when children mirrored what they saw outside.

"Whole families are impacted. Parents tell us their younger kids pick up the language, behavior, and aggression of older peers who are already trapped in substance abuse. This cycle is intergenerational if not broken," she said.

Reduce children’s access

According to the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre's 2019 report on substance use in India, inhalant use among children and adolescents is higher than among adults. While the report does not place Tamil Nadu in the top ten states for alcohol use prevalence, other sources like the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) show that alcohol consumption among men in the state is above the national average. The report also indicates that while the mean age of initiation into drug use is 24, a notable percentage of users start before the age of 15.

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Joel Shelton, who works on policy research and works with an organisation called Reach the Unreached, has been tracking how the COTPA collapses in practice.

“There are boards around academic institutions, both schools and colleges, stating ‘Selling any form of tobacco is prohibited within 100 yards (i.e., 91 metres) of the premises’. But around Chennai public schools, which are operated by the Department of School Education and the Greater Chennai Corporation, we still find many shops selling them. If a robust mechanism of conducting un-informed audits regularly was in place, access for children in vulnerable communities would be reduced,” he said.

Vendors in grey zone

Shops near schools often operate in a grey zone. One petty shop owner, not very far from a government-aided school in Vyasarpadi said, “Children come and ask. Sometimes it’s in ones or twos, sometimes a group comes together. If I refuse, they go to the next shop. We are also struggling to survive. Selling a few cigarettes or packets gives us some money. Everyone does it, so we can’t be the only ones to stop,” he said.

Another vendor, who runs a tea stall close to an Anganwadi in North Chennai, defended himself differently. “I don’t sell directly to schoolchildren. But I can’t stop adults from buying. If they stand outside and smoke, how can I control that? Police don’t check regularly. Once in a while they come, but they warn and leave. We also know the rule, but the system allows this to go on,” he said.

This has meant the cycle of addiction and abuse has been normalised in these communities.

“When people say smoking is bad but we see it outside our classrooms every day, it doesn’t feel serious anymore,” said Sarasu, a Class 10 student in Kannakinagar.

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Another boy added, “It is not only outside. Some friends even bring beedis from home because their fathers smoke. For them, it feels natural.”

Parents feel torn between economic realities and children’s futures. “We are daily wage workers. We cannot shift schools or houses. All we ask is for authorities to protect the space where our children study,” said Ramu, a father of two.

Long-term damage

Health experts underline the risks. “Adolescents exposed to substance use early are more likely to experiment themselves. Even second-hand smoke in school surroundings is a hazard. What is worse, when children see adults drinking near their play spaces, it blurs boundaries between safe and unsafe behaviour,” said Dr. Pradeep, a public health researcher from Bengaluru who works in various parts of India and who studies addiction in adolescents out of personal interest.

NGOs working on child rights agree.

“In poorer neighbourhoods, enforcement is weakest. Children here already face educational and social disadvantages. Add exposure to tobacco and alcohol, and you are setting up another cycle of harm,” said Gayatri.S who works with an organisation that campaigns for safe spaces for children.

Vanessa Peter, founder of the Information and Resource Centre for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), advocates for targeted interventions for children already struggling with addiction.

“Many parents — especially daily wage workers — don’t have the means or support to protect their kids from falling into the same habits. My request to the government has been very specific: just like there are one-stop help centres for women facing violence, there should also be centres for children struggling with addiction. Awareness programmes alone will not solve the problem,” said Peters. “Families need structured support, and children need real help systems to step into, otherwise the cycle will only repeat itself.”