Tobacco Deaths in India May Exceed 1.5million by 2020

Source from:  Deccan Chronicle (in)  02/28/2013

Palatal cancer is very common in North Andhra districts due to reverse smoking. Tribal pockets of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhpatnam districts have been recently experiencing huge tobacco-related ailments.

According to studies conducted by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and researchers from department of Sucre of University of Antioquia, Columbia, 43.8 pc of tobacco users were found to be reverse smokers in  Srikakulam.

The incidence of oral cancer of the palate was 40-50 per cent, in reverse smoking in North Andhra districts. Palate cancer is a malignant abnormal grow-th of cells on the roof of the mouth and use of tobacco and alcohol are risk factors for cancer of the soft palate, according to Dr B. Sasidhar Kumar, the District TB Control Officer.

He said that reverse smoking is a risk factor for cancer of the hard palate. In reverse smoking, the lit end of the cigarette is placed in the mouth. Here intense heat is generated that leads to various ailments to the palate. He also said the majority palate diseases are asymptomatic and unpredictably turn into cancers.

Records of 600 consecutive patients with cancer of the oral cavity and or pharynx at the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam were compared with controls matched in age, sex, economic status, education, occupation, religion, and origin.

The incidence of cancer of the hard palate was 54.8 per cent overall and 73.8 per cent among females. The risk of developing hard palate carcinoma increased for females 132 times with reverse smoking of chuttas.

The KGH outpatient department gets around 10-15 cases in advanced stages of various carcinomas every month, he said.

The World Health Organisation predicts that tobacco deaths in India may exceed 1.5 million annually by 2020. Around 4,000 different chemicals present in tobacco and more than 60 of these are known to cause cancer. Enditem