‘Chewable tobacco, a big reason for oral cancer’

KOTA: According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS-2) 2016-17 report, at least 96% of the youths in India agree that chewable tobacco is the major reason for serious diseases like oral cancer.
Nearly 10 lakh people in India are diagnosed with oral cancer, known Head Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), annually and unfortunately half of them die within a year.
Government’s failure to implement an effective ban on sale of tobacco products such as gutka, bidi, cigarettes further adds to the alarm as consumption of the same leads to growing number of oral cancer deaths.
Dr. Pawan Singhal, state patron of Voice of Tobacco Victims(VOTV) and a professor at Swai Man Singh Hospital, said that according to GATS–2, 19.9 crore people (over the age of 15 years) have used chewable tobacco in some form or the other in the last seven years. Meanwhile, the 85% illustrations warning on the packets of chewable tobacco products has persuaded 46.7% of the people give a thought to giving up chewing tobacco. The GATS–2 data indicates in 2009-2010, 33.8% people thought of quitting tobacco just because of the pictorial warning illustrations on the packets. 96% of youth think chewable tobacco is the major cause of serious diseases, the GATS–2 report suggests, Singhal said.
“People mainly in the age group of 60-70 years used to be prone to oral and throat cancer till as late as 30 years ago,” Dr Singhal said adding, “Now people as young as 30 to 50 years are being diagnosed with oral cancer.”
India has the dubious distinction of having largest amount of chewing tobacco consumption in the world. It is a cheap and easily available addiction and its growing consumption in the last two decades has contributed to alarming rise in oral cancer, observed the experts working to check the menace of tobacco related diseases.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in a report in 2008 revealed that tobacco consumption was diagnosed as reason for cancer among 50 % male and 25% female victims. Nearly 90% of these victims (male and female) suffered from oral cancer.
The report pointed out that smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, Khaini, Gutka contain 3,000 chemical compounds and 29 of them could be potential cause for oral cancer. India has the largest population of oral cancer patients in the world.