We have learned through the years that the smoking epidemic follows a predictable course in most populations, thus requiring fairly similar intervention strategies. Yet when we begin planning tobacco control interventions in a developing country setting, we immediately face basic questions for which few answers exist, and for which data from developed countries are inadequate, and sometimes even misleading. More so, when threatened by the potential adoption of anti-tobacco policies promoted by governments and public health advocates in developing countries, the tobacco industry often responds by highlighting the potential negative economic impact of these policies and the inadequacy of local data justifying their implementation. Examples of local data essential for the development of effective tobacco control interventions include: patterns and trends of tobacco use initiation and quitting in the society; the applicability of interventions developed in different cultures or rich societies (for example, tax increases); the toxic and addictive profiles of local tobacco use methods (for example, smokeless tobacco, waterpipe, and bidis) and the economic toll of tobacco use for the target society compared to the costs of establishing nationwide intervention programmes? These are just a few examples of the scope and depth of data required to even begin planning intervention strategies to curb tobacco use in the society, as well as to convince policymakers of the rationale of investing in such interventions.