Oncologists, cardiologists, public health experts and civil society groups got together on World No Tobacco Day on Sunday at the Regional Cancer Centre to emphasise on the ills of tobacco use and to advocate policies for reducing tobacco consumption.
Cancer link
Inaugurating the meeting, the Vice Chancellor, Kerala University of Health Sciences, M.K.C. Nair, said that there was undisputable evidence about the tobacco-cancer link and that preventing the initiation to tobacco habit was crucial.
Children should be taught to be wary of tobacco and they have a huge role in dissuading family members from adopting the habit, Dr. Nair said.
The function was organised by the Regional Cancer Centre, in partnership with the Health department, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Regional Cancer Association, Tobacco Free Kerala, ADIC-India and Kerala Voluntary Health Services.
Paul Sebastian, the Director of RCC, society needed to be sensitised better on the harms of tobacco and that despite awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco, many continued to use tobacco.
Speaking on the theme of World No Tobacco Day this year – ‘Stop illicit trade of tobacco products’ – K. R. Thankappan, Professor and Head, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, said illicit tobacco trade created huge revenue losses to the Government and that in 2014-15, the government lost a sum of Rs. 2,363 crore on that count.
Rampant use
Prof Thankappan also spoke about the rampant use of banned tobacco products by migrants in Kerala and called for speedy implementation of 85 per cent pictorial warnings on all tobacco product packs.
Representatives of Health, Police, Excise, Food Safety departments as well as tobacco victims shared their thoughts on the occasion.
