India has one of the largest proportion of children and adolescents in the world, but the threat posed by child substance use remains under-researched.

A large study published in 2017, the first of its kind in India, was carried out with a sample of nearly 4000 children using substances (school-going, out-ofschool as well as street children) across more than a hundred cities/ towns. Substance abuse during the formative years interferes with academic, social and life skills development, and warrants both primary and secondary prevention.

Substance abuse among children has received attention only recently in India and much work needs to be done to address the issue. The first step is to acknowledge the emerging problem. It is important to bring stakeholders together to address the issue through a multipronged approach with an equal focus on prevention as well as treatment efforts.