Percentage of those who smoke may have come down in the country, but the rate of those who consume tobacco in forms like pan masala is still high, RTO Enforcement Muhammed Najeeb has said.
Consumption of tobacco as pan masala and such forms is more dangerous than smoking, Mr. Najeeb said. “Children should be trained to identify what is dangerous and avoid it studiously,” he said, delivering the inaugural address of the World Anti-tobacco day programme of Pratheeksha, an organisation for cancer patients.
“Education and nurturing is very important to solve all problems in the society these days, including smoking, alcoholism, disrespect to women and violation of traffic. Children tend to imitate their parents and hence it is the duty of the parents to set an example,” he said.
P. Hemapalan, State secretary of Non Smokers’ Association, said the approach towards smoking should not be emotional, but thoughtful. Oncologist Narayanankutty Warrier said step-by-step reduction of stopping the habit was not practical and that abrupt stopping was the best. He said one person was being lost to tobacco-induced cancer every eight seconds in the world and that more than 30 per cent of the cancer cases were caused by tobacco.
“I meet at least 3 new patients every day, who have lung cancer. They are mostly in a stage where treatment is useless. I meet quite a few people less that 30 years of age who suffer from tobacco-induced cancer,” he said.
World Anti-Tobacco Day was also observed under the aegis of the Student Federation of India and the Kerala Government Student Nurses Association at Beach Hospital on Sunday. The programmes included street plays, poster exhibition, and a no-tobacco rally.
