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Kolkata: The prevalence of oral cancer among women is alarmingly high in Bengal. The city’s dental college –Dr R Ahmed Dental College and Hospital in 2024 registered 422 oral cancer cases out of which more than 133 were women. Dr Raju Biswas, state secretary of the Indian Dental Association (IDA) and an expert in the field said: “Tobacco usage has become one of the biggest vice in today’s generation. It’s a concern that oral cancer is on the rise among women. One of the main reasons is the increased use of tobacco. The trends appear to be common among juveniles and the urban populations. People who are taking tobacco in any form need to quit it immediately.” Dr R Ahmed Dental College, a tertiary hospital for dental health, started maintaining its own data on oral cancer over the past few years. It detected 673 cases of oral cancer — 522 men and 151 women in 2023 while in 2022, 422 oral cancer cases were detected out of which 281 were men and 141 women. IDA along with the KMC and a private hospital in the city organised an awareness programme on Friday on world no tobacco day highlighting the need to fight against the use of tobacco and its harmful uses. Experts pointed out that the reason behind this rising incidence of oral cancer among women is the increasing use of tobacco in various forms among the people. “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,” Dr Biswas added.
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. State government organises various awareness campaigns on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day from time to time to make people aware of the ill effects of Tobacco consumption in various forms. IDA plays a crucial role in spreading awareness.