Oncologists and public health experts in Kerala have made a joint appeal to all political parties to include tobacco control as a public health measure in election manifestos.
Tobacco-control is the single-most public health measure which can significantly contribute to reducing the burden of cancer, Paul Sebastian, Director of the Regional Cancer Centre here and vice-chairman, Tobacco-free Kerala, said at a press conference here on Monday.
Not just cancer, tobacco-control can have a huge impact also on reducing other non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure, the incidence of which has been spiralling in Kerala.
Cancer link“Tobacco has a clear causative link to about 40 per cent of cancers in Kerala. The economic burden on health-care resources in Kerala from tobacco use is Rs. 1,514 crore a year. The tobacco tax revenue of Rs. 315 crore is paltry in comparison,” Dr. Sebastian said. The joint representation given by Tobacco-free Kerala to major political parties calls for specific measures for tobacco control.
The doctors requested all political parties to include in their manifestos a resolve for strict implementation of the Indian tobacco control law, COTPA, 2003, stringent measures to protect non-smokers from the harms of second-hand smoke and more awareness of the ills of tobacco use.
Smokeless tobaccoTobacco-free Kerala has also called for a total ban on production and distribution of all kinds of smokeless tobacco products in Kerala and widespread and sustained awareness campaigns on harms of tobacco use, targeting all sections of Kerala’s population.
