Bengaluru: Speaking at the World No Tobacco Day programme organised by the departments of Health and Family Welfare and AYUSH, Health Minister U T Khader said that farmers growing tobacco must be encouraged to take up alternative crops in the next 10 years as tobacco leads to cancer and other diseases on Saturday.
“Many youths are getting addicted (to tobacco) and are dying. It cannot be stopped immediately, hence the Departments of Agriculture and Horticulture should encourage farmers to grow alternative crops.”
Khader said, “Swachh Bharat had caught everyone’s attention, but we also need a Swastha (healthy) Bharat.”
The Minister further said that he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticising the comments of a BJP MP who said there are no studies in India showing tobacco leads to cancer.
Last year, the state government registered 2.25 lakh cases under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act(Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution), 2003 (COTPA) and collected Rs 2.88 crore as fine.
Between January and March this year, 40,000 cases were registered. “The amount collected as fine will be used for awareness programmes on tobacco and its ill-effects, Khader said.
Gynaecologist Dr Kamani Rao said smoking also leads to fertility problems. “There are chances of about 85 per cent smokers turning impotent and many women failing to conceive.”
Statistics from across the state reveal that 45,445 cases of oral cancer are reported every year.
According to Dr C Ramesh, Department of Epidemiology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, there has been an increase in tobacco-related cancers in the last 30 years.
“Lip and tongue cancers among males and cheek cancer among females are noticed. At least 50 per cent cancer cases in males are tobacco-related, out of which, 15 per cent are due to consumption of tobacco in the form of cigarettes or beedis, while the rest are due to chewing tobacco. Nearly 20 per cent of the total cancers in females could be attributed to oral consumption of tobacco,” added Ramesh.
Dr U S Vishal Rao, member of state High-power Committee on Tobacco Control, said, “The state spends about Rs 1,000 crore on tobacco-related ailments. Many young patients are in the age group of 20 to 30, especially in rural areas. Instead of announcing various health schemes, the government must ban tobacco products.”
