India: Tobacco smoking kills 90,000 people an year

A WHO report says, 1.3 per cent of all deaths in India are due to tobacco consumption in 1990, this would rise to 13.2 per cent by 2020. Second hand smoke is another cause of worry. Usually women are more abandoned by this form in our country

CJ: DANISH KHAN

Mon, Jul 06, 2009 16:29:51 IST

Views:
98
Comments:
0

Rate:

1.0 / 1 votes

Tobacco Death Statistics :

THERE IS one tobacco-related death every 8 seconds. India may lose 2.5 million people an year by 2025, due to growing tobacco consumption that will prove to be a great hurdle to the country's economic growth, experts have warned.

India is home to over 250 million tobacco users and more than 900,000 people succumb to tobacco-related diseases every year. But the most ominous sign is the number of youth falling prey to the addiction.

Every three out of 10 students live in homes where others smoke in their presence; almost 50 per cent of the students are exposed to smoke in public places. Quoting a WHO report, 1.3 per cent of all deaths in India are due to tobacco consumption in 1990, this would rise to 13.2 per cent by 2020. Second hand smoke is another cause of worry. Usually women are more abandoned by this form in our country.

Seventy per cent of tobacco smoked in India is in form of bidis. Bidis kill 6,00,000 people in India every year. Nearly 85 per cent of the world's bidi tobacco is grown in India. The states with maximum bidi smoking are Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. The mortality rate from bidi smoking is much higher than cigarette smoking and overall mortality rate from tobacco smoking is even higher.

The increasing craze among the common people to go in for Hookah smoking has become a cause of worry. People are of the belief that Hookah smoking is less toxic, as compared to cigarette. However, the reality is that it is equally lethal as the cigarette smoking. Infact, a single session of Hookah smoking, which usually lasts about 30-60 minutes, causes equivalent harm as a pack of cigarettes.

Tobacco is responsible for cancer at many sites: Lungs, mouth, pharynx, larynx, stomach, urinary bladder, gall bladder, penis and it leads to heart and blood vessel disease, myocardial Infraction (Heart Attack), Angina (Chest Pain), sudden cardiac death (Unheralded sudden death), stroke (Brain Attack), peripheral Vascular Disease (Gangrene of legs).

“Ninety-six per cent of lung cancers are caused by tobacco consumption. In tobacco smoke, there are 3,600 known chemicals, of which 20 can cause cancer,” warned Samir Kaul, a senior oncology surgeon at the Indraprastha Apollo Cancer Institute. India has largest number of oral cancer cases in world due to tobacco consumption.

In addition to damage to personal health, tobacco use results in severe societal costs like reduced productivity and health care burden, environmental damage and poverty of the families.

Experts say that if the government wants to spend less on tobacco related diseases, then it must promote 'community participation' in its programmes and ban all types of tobacco advertisements. Endorsement of tobacco products by celebrities is a great threat as it influences the desire of the general public. Only banning billboards will not help.

According to Dr Amar Singhal smoking should be stopped as early as possible for a happy and successful life. It is a slow poison. To quit smoking one can opt for chewing nicotine gums, which help reduce its consumption.

Warnings on tobacco product packaging using pictures increase public awareness of the serious health risks of tobacco use much effectively and convincing them to quit.

E-mail |

Print | Post comment