India: More and More Women are Now Chewing Tobacco

Source from:  Free Press Journal 10/12/2015

An article published in Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention (APJCP) on Wednesday has revealed that the prevalence of chewing tobacco is increasing among women. It further emphasises that women chewing tobacco have been a neglected segment, but looking into it is crucial to save the health of future generations.

Cancer experts further state that it is proven beyond doubt that children born to women who use tobacco have a higher incidence of low birth weight, still birth, birth anomalies, intra-uterine growth retardation etc. Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, a cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, said, "It is evident that even the habit of smoking is on the rise among women. Nearly 80 per cent of tobacco consumption in India is in the form of chewing and 22 crore people in India chew tobacco. This practice is responsible for 1 lakh mouth cancers every year and nearly half of these patients die within 12 months of diagnosis."

Dr Chaturvedi explained that earlier they used to report high incidences of tobacco chewing among men, but they are now witnessing a rise even among women who chew tobacco. He added that the only way to put an end to this is by banning the product. Enditem