Alarming! 26.7 crore tobacco
users in India
"A
s per the Global Adult
Tobacco Survey 2017,
there are 26.7 crore
users of tobacco in India.
5,500 children initiate tobacco use
every day. One-third of these tobacco
users will die prematurely. Lacs and
lacs of Indian families are devastated
with tobacco deaths, which are
preventable. "Tobacco is the single
most preventable cause of death.”
Sambandh Health Foundation (SHF)
Trustee and Head of Tobacco Control,
Sanjay Seth said at a function in
Chandigarh recently.
As the adage goes, “Prevention is
better than cure”, tobacco is the
singlemost preventable cause of
death. With the aim of having a
tobacco free society, doctors of
PGIMER, Chandigarh got together
for a meeting to address the tobacco
epidemic.
Organizing and leading the doctors
meet in PGI Chandigarh, Dr. Anand
Mishra,
Additional
Professor,
Department
of
Cardiothoracic
By InnoHEALTH Editorial Team
46
Volume 3 | Issue 3 | July-September 2018
Surgery said, “tobacco is an epidemic
killing 10 lac Indians every year.
It is the need of the hour that this
issue is addressed at all levels in
the Government as well as the
community.”
An official statement after the meet
said, "If we talk about the healthcare
costs, the estimated economic cost
of tobacco has been estimated at Rs.
1,04,500 crores (US$ 22.4 billion)
which is 1.16 percent of the GDP and
12 percent more than the combined
State and Central Government
expenditures on health (2011-
12). The financial burden due to
direct and indirect costs of tobacco-
attributable diseases will continue to
push families of millions of tobacco
users towards poverty and stealthily
decelerate the economic growth of
the country.”
The Indian Council Medical Research
(ICMR) estimates, India will have
more than 17.3 lakh new cancer
cases and more than 8.8 lakh deaths
due to cancer by 2020. 90% of oral
cancers and 50% of all cancers
are caused due to tobacco. This
will not only affect the individual’s
health and the families of the cancer
patients, but also adversely affect the
economy of the country as a whole,
the statement informed.
Dr. Vedant Kabra, Head of Department
Surgical Oncology, Manipal Hospitals
and Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV)
patron, said, “tobacco not only
destroys physical health but also is a
cause of extreme emotional trauma
for the cancer patient as well as the
family apart from draining them
financially.”