CHENNAI: Tobacco in any form or disguise is injurious to heath. This is the message that must go out to the public in the run-up to the World No-Tobacco Day, to be observed on May 31, oncologists have said.

Consider these chilling facts: researchers have estimated that 50 per cent of the 1.3 billion smokers worldwide will die prematurely of tobacco-related diseases; by 2030, this figure is expected to go up to 70 per cent; In India, the number of deaths due to tobacco-related diseases is 8,00,000; 30-40 per cent of 2.3 billion children and teenagers worldwide are expected to take to smoking, with 250 million of them projected to die prematurely.

Which is why Rajkumar, scientific director, Cancer Institute, and his colleagues think it essential to reach out to the youth, to prevent them acquiring the habit, as the addiction potential of nicotine in the tobacco pins people to the habit.

One way of reaching the home is through women. Doctors at the Cancer Institute, Adyar, have figured out that in this battle, women are the best resources available for creating a revolution.

If provided with the right inputs, they will be able to convince their family members and also influence society.

So they have decided to target women, who have some say in the community, especially those belonging to self-help groups to be part of an awareness programme on the ills of tobacco use.

About 100 NGOs from Tamil Nadu mobilised SHGs from different parts of the State to participate in an awareness programme held at the Institute on May 13. Oncologists have reiterated their demand for increasing the taxes on the sale of tobacco products and the cost of cigarettes, and finding alternative cash crops for farmers involved in tobacco cultivation.

The Institute's Tobacco Cessation Clinics have achieved an immediate quit rate of 20 per cent, said Rohini Premkumari, professor, Radiation Oncology. However, a number of them relapse into smoking, and it was necessary to target the group that had not yet fallen prey to the habit of smoking.

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