Indore: The second Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS2) 2016-17 states that nearly 19.9 crore adults consumed smokeless tobacco in the country. Of them, 50 percent thought of quitting smokeless tobacco.
“About 92.4 percent of adults believed that smoking causes serious illness and 95.6 percent of adults believed that use of smokeless tobacco causes serious illness. Despite this, people continue to use tobacco in one or other form,” said Indian Medical Association’s Tobacco Control Committee chairman Dr Dilip Acharya.
Talking to Free Press on eve of World Head and Neck Cancer Day, he said that tobacco is the most prevalent but most preventable cause of head and neck cancer but India has the dubious distinction of highest incidence of oral cancers in the world.
It was believed that old people fall prey to oral cancer but in last few years it is reported in young people too. World Head and Neck Cancer Day will be observed for the fourth time internationally by International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies to draw world’s attention on its effective care and control.
Ways to check oral cavity to detect cancer