The South Asian region occupies a unique place in global tobacco control because of a broad spectrum of widely used tobacco products and the consequent mix of local and transnational tobacco industries. Cigarette use is especially high among males in many countries, while bidis are widely used in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and are very inexpensive. Smokeless tobacco use is a global problem, but the bulk of use is in South Asia and there is emerging promotion of newly developed tobacco and nicotine products across the region. Despite interference from tobacco industry and many other challenges, this region has achieved remarkable successes in tobacco control, including large pictorial warnings that cover up to 80%–90% of the pack in some countries, stringent rules on depiction of tobacco in movies, bans on advertising and promotion, and smoke-free public places.