Awareness, higher taxes, stronger laws needed for combating tobacco menace: Experts

PTI, Feb 9, 2022, 8:30 AM IST

A three-pronged strategy — public awareness, stronger legislation and higher taxes to make tobacco inaccessible to common man — is needed for tobacco control and this keep cancer at bay, medical experts have suggested.

This is needed as tobacco-induced cancer is emerging as a major public health threat in the country, they said.

Leading health experts took part in a webinar organised on the World Cancer Day (February 4), and expressed their concern over the situation.

A senior doctor from AIIMS, lamented that women were ”increasingly taking up tobacco consumption”, viewing it as a ”fashion symbol”.

”Top medical experts have suggested a three-pronged tobacco control strategy — public awareness, strengthening legislation and hiking taxes to make tobacco inaccessible to common man especially kids — to keep the deadly disease at bay,” the organisers said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ocologist and former head, National Cancer Institute Dr G K Rath; Dr Alok Thakar, Dr Rambha Pandey and Dr Rakesh Garg, leading cancer experts from AIIMS, New Delhi and Dr Rahul Bhargava, Principal Director, hematology, Fortis Hospital, Gurgaon shared their views over rising tobacco-induced cancer, Presently different kinds of cancer is taking into its grip around 14 lakh Indians, killing 8 lakh every year, and as many as 27 per cent are attributed to tobacco use, the statement claimed.

These experts also felt that passage of the proposed amendments for a stricter tobacco-control law, COTPA (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act), will help reduce the menace.

”Tobacco products are the major contributors for various cancers and other diseases. In India, tobacco-related cancers contribute nearly half of the total cancers in males and one-fifth in females,” Dr G K Rath, was quoted as saying in the statement.

He also expressed displeasure that while tobacco firms were targeting through various marketing strategies to children as young as ten years old, and alleged that few Bollywood celebrities were ”engaged in surrogate advertisements of health hazardous items like gutka”.

”This is very unfortunate as they are impacting the impressionable minds of young children to take up this deadly habit,” he said at the event hosted by journalist Arun Anand.

It is important to note that in the last 15 years, cancer has become one of the top causes of mortality and morbidity in India, the statement said.

This is likely to increase in India which is the second leading consumer of tobacco products. As India celebrates its 75th year of Independence as a year-long ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ it is time to work towards getting freedom from tobacco and free the citizens, especially youth, from these poisonous and cancer causing addictive products, doctors said.

Dr Alok Thakar, professor of head-neck surgery and otorhinolaryngology at the AIIMS here, flagged the concern at rising oral cancer cases due to unabated sale and consumption of tobacco products like ”cigarette, beedi, khaini, tambaku, gutka and zarda” ”Since these are yet to be regulated in true sense and not many people are aware about its ill-effects, it will increase the country’s health burden dramatically,” he said.

Dr Rahul Bhargava of Fortis Hospital echoed similar views and asserted that as long as tobacco products were easily available and affordable for poor and children, achieving ‘Tobacco Free India’ mission will remain a dream.

Dr Rambha Pandey, Additional Professor, radiation oncologist, AIIMS, lamented that women are increasingly taking up tobacco consumption, viewing it as a ‘fashion symbol’.

“This is a very disturbing trend. The habit of smoking and chewing start at the age of 10-12 years among kids, and once they get into the habit, it is difficult to shun,” she was quoted as saying in the statement.

Dr Pandey hoped that the stringent COTPA amendments having provisions such as ban on designated smoking zones will help in cutting down tobacco consumption among the public and thus suffering from cancer. People must be told that tobacco has no single benefit, she said.

”The link between tobacco consumption and cancer is very clear. There is a need to look into the financial toxicity caused by tobacco consumption resulting in cancer. A multi-pronged strategy focussing on awareness, higher taxes and stringent laws is needed to make these killer products unaffordable and inaccessible to make India healthy,” said Dr Rakesh Garg, additional professor of anaesthesiology, critical care, pain and palliative medicine, AIIMS.

According to the health experts, cancers caused by tobacco, can affect lungs, mouth, pharynx (upper throat), nose and sinuses, larynx (voice box), oesophagus (food pipe), liver, pancreas, stomach, kidney, ovary, bladder, cervix, and some types of leukaemia.

Smoking causes other ailments too such as heart disease and various lung diseases, they said.