TOBACCO: A SILENT KILLER

THE adverse effects of tobacco on people’s health, including the link between tobacco use and cancer, have always been known. Now, it has been found that smokeless tobacco contains no less than 28 carcinogens. The latest study also reveals that 30 per cent of the smokeless tobacco available in the market contains heavy metals, far in excess of the permissible limit. With the number of tobacco users in India a staggering 274.9 million, a majority of whom are daily users, the health hazards of tobacco use are to an alarming degree.

Tobacco continues to be the leading preventable cause of death and tobacco use kills one in 10 adults worldwide. India alone accounts for 86 per cent of oral cancer cases across the world. Chewing tobacco and gutka contributes to 90 per cent of oral cancer cases in the country. Besides, tobacco addiction involves other health risks like cardiovascular diseases too. Realising the perils of the fatal addiction, India banned smoking in public places and introduced pictorial warnings on cigarette packets and tobacco products. However, these measures have failed to yield the desired results. Even the Union Health Ministry admitted that pictorial warnings have been ineffective. There is now an increasing clamour for banning smokeless tobacco.
Undeniably, there is an urgent need to come down heavily upon the unregulated smokeless tobacco industry. But whether a ban is the answer or other measures can help check the harmful contents in tobacco products needs to be debated. The erroneous presumption that smokeless tobacco is less harmful than smoking needs to be dispelled through massive awareness campaigns. Sustained advocacy did lead to fall in tobacco consumption, in the West. The government must keep tabs on tobacco majors too, who continue to flout rules and indulge in surrogate advertising. Pan masala manufacturers whose so-called tobacco free pan masala have been found to contain high levels of nicotine also need to be taken to task. If India needs to avert an impending health catastrophe caused by excessive tobacco use, it must follow a holistic approach.