'Out of 3L cancer patients in state, 91% are of oral cancer'

kolkata: State government has organised various awareness campaigns on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day on Tuesday to make people aware of the ill effects of Tobacco consumption in various forms.

According to data, in Bengal, there are around 3 lakh cancer patients out of which 1 lakh are suffering from oral cancer. In 91 per cent cases oral cancer has been caused by consumption of tobacco in various forms.

In Bengal over 48 percent of people above the age of 15 consume tobacco while around 16 per cent smoke. Around 49 percent men in Kolkata consume tobacco in various forms. In India around 38 percent above the 15 consume tobacco in any form.

According to data, around 91 per cent of oral cancer patients had been affected due to consumption of tobacco.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) V report said that 38 percent of men in India above 15 consume tobacco while 8.9 per cent of women consume tobacco in various forms.

The figure is slightly up when it comes to Bengal. Around 48.1 per cent men from the state in the same age group take tobacco products while 10.8 per cent of women above the age of 15 consume tobacco products in Bengal.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation in association with the state branch of Indian Dental Association (IDA) and Indian Medical Association's (IMA) state branch observed World No Tobacco day at Uttam Mancha. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, Deputy Mayor Atin Ghish, Mala Roy , Dr Santanu Sen, Debasish Kumar, Dr. Raju Biswas, secretary of IDA took part in the programme.

Dr Raju Biswas who is an expert in the field said: "Tobacco usage has become one of the biggest vice in today's generation. The trends appear to be common among juveniles and the urban populations. Quitting Tobacco is not a huge task. They just needed a bit of motivation and long term counseling in order to abstain from Tobacco permanently."

Bengal State Branch of IDA organized another awareness programme at Dr. R Ahmed Dental College and hospital where Director of Health Service Dr Siddharth Niyogi took part. Mayor Hakim laid importance on carrying out cancer screening at KMC run health centers and camps so that a huge number of people can undergo check up without visiting multispecialty hospitals. If screenings are done at KMC's health centers, the queue for screening at hospitals will be reduced, Hakim added. "Young generations have to come forward and make a pledge to eradicate tobacco consumption," Hakim said while addressing a programme.