Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Tobacco use continues to take a toll on the lives of Indians as more than one millions people in the country die prematurely every year due to tobacco-related diseases, according to the World Lung Foundation report.
The report released Tuesday said that tobacco products are the number one cause of cancer in India and the use of chewed tobacco products is directly linked to oral cancer.
“Estimates from patients at our oral cancer ward indicate that 80 to 90 percent of preventable cancers of the neck, head and throat are tobacco related. The burden of oral cancers caused by chewing tobacco, as well as lung and other cancers caused by smoking tobacco in 'bidis' and cigarettes, is enormous,” said Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer specialist at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
Earlier, a report by the International Tobacco Control Project (ITCP) had said that despite having signed up to a global treaty on tobacco control and having numerous anti-tobacco and smoke-free laws, India is failing to implement them effectively, leaving its people vulnerable to addiction and ill health.
"Public health experts have been sounding the alarm on the astonishing increase in cancers caused by lifestyle factors, particularly tobacco use. Governments must urgently implement strong preventive policies like increased taxation and restrictions to access of unhealthy products; enforcement of bans on advertising and promotion of unhealthy products," said Nandita Murukutla, country director, World Lung Foundation.
With Agency Inputs
