Tobacco consumption has long been associated with lung disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.But, a recent guidance by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that smokers face a 40-50 per cent higher risk of developing severe disease and death from Covid-19.
In this year as a theme of the Day World Health Organization (WHO) has called to quit smoking for saving the environment. In this perspective, Oncologists of Narayan Super specialty Hospital Howrah aware people on the theme ‘Tobacco threat to our environment: Quit Tobacco, Prevent cancer, prevent the planet’. Perhaps today all may know that intoxication of Tobacco and Tobacco Products like cigarette, ‘biri’ or ‘gutkha’ is the main reason of the cancer.
The main cause of Head & neck Cancer is tobacco in 90% cases. Again oral cancer is the main disease among them. In case of chewing tobacco, Indian Sub continent is in the first row, so in case of oral cancer our country is also in the front line. Dr. Vivek Agarwal, Senior Oncologist, Narayan Super Specialty Hospital has informed that in every 40 seconds one is died for cancer, heart disease or other diseases due to smoking or chewing tobacco. The number is 2200 for a day and minimum 8 lakhs per year where about six lakhs people are died in a year due to passive smoking.
Besides nicotine, Smokers inhale various toxic chemicals like benzene many nitros amines or metal particles of cadmium, carbon monoxide etc. Among them, at least 28 are carcinogenic. Khaini, guthkha or snuff the all other types of tobacco products also contain them. For these reasons, these all types of tobacco intoxication is the risk factors of many diseases like cancer, heart diseases or infertility. We all know the statutory warning ‘smoking is injurious to health’ but the smoker people do not obey this since they know that they will not die tomorrow due to smoking which is said by Mario Puzo, the renowned American Novelist , in his world classic novel God Father. But slow poisoning of tobacco is too dangerous to feel the pain of a cancer patient at terminal stage. Dr. Chandrakanth MV, another clinical oncologist, Narayan Super speciality hospital call all people to quit smoking for prevention of cancer and saving the planet.
