Tobacco use is a fatal habit, given the potential for having cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, smoking, constricting blood vessels, heart disease, and brain diseases. An estimated 7 million people worldwide die each year from tobacco-related diseases, of which 1.2 million innocent people die from the effects of second-hand smoke.
The World No Tobacco Day is observed in UNO member states from 1987 on May 31st every year to warn people against the direct and indirect (ill) effects of tobacco use. On this day people are specifically urged to stay away from tobacco.
Dr. Anil Goyal, Sayaji Hospital’s head of Radiation Oncology said that people who smoke are 50 percent more likely to have severe COVID and die from it because the lungs of smokers are already affected due to smoking.
According to him, smoking or chewing tobacco causes cancer of the mouth, gallbladder, palate, or jaw and throat, as well as cancers of the respiratory tract, esophagus, and larynx. In addition, women are more likely to get cancer of the gallbladder, uterus, cervix, and urinary bladder. The number of women who use tobacco in the form of gutkha or other forms is almost the same as that of men. The elements of tobacco are absorbed in the body and almost all the organs and also contaminates the nucleus and the DNA.
Dr. Anil states that cancer is a disease that occurs due to various reasons. Tobacco use alone does not cause cancer, but its use increases the risk. This means that the relative risk of cancer is higher in such people.
He said that last year their department received an estimated 350 cases of cancer out of which tobacco was found responsible in about 300 cases. Tobacco has been implicated in about 30-40 cases of cervical cancer and an estimated 50- 40 cases of lung cancer.
Patients coming to this department and their families are counseled by the counselor about the ill effects of tobacco and the need to quit. It has been observed that from the age of 14 or 15, the youths are into the habit of smoking.
This year’s theme for Tobacco Prohibition Day is “Quit tobacco to be the winner”. Really quitting tobacco can make many people victorious in the battle of life. Thus, tobacco use is a habit that is detrimental to the health of not just one person but a generation. The only good for mankind is to keep a distance from it.
