Tobacco Free Kerala: June 2012

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Fifty per cent of head and neck cancers related to smoking

Kerala has one of the highest reported incidences of head and neck cancers, which constitute over 30 per cent of all cancers in the Indian sub-continent.

A new study has revealed that over 50 per cent of head and neck cancers is due to smoking.

In the study involving 101,182 subjects during a Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial, it was brought out that 50.5 per cent of head and neck cancer cases are attributed to tobacco use.

Titled ‘Tobacco, alcohol, body mass index, physical activity, and the risk of head and neck cancer in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian (PLCO) cohort,’ the study also found out that the proportion of head and neck cancer cases attributed to tobacco and/or alcohol was 66 per cent.

Of these, 50.5 per cent was due to tobacco use alone, 14.7 per cent from alcohol alone and 0.9 per cent from combination of tobacco and alcohol.

Ranked sixth among the common cancers worldwide, head and neck cancers are a heterogeneous group of tumours involving the oral cavity (mouth), pharynx (throat), and larynx (voice-box).

According to the World Cancer Report 2008, nearly 300,000 people die each year out of 400,000 approximate cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx and 160,000 cancers of the larynx.

The Hindu, 27 June 2012

Deepika, 26 June 2012

Kerala Bhooshanam, 26 June 2012

NewAge, 26 June 2012

Janmabhumi, 25 June 2012

Matthrubhumi, 24 June 2012

Janayugom, 24 June 2012

Chandrika, 24 June 2012

Veekshanam, 24 June 2012

Mangalam, 24 June 2012

Varthamanam, 24 June 2012

Siraj, 24 June 2012

Tuesday 26 June 2012

School students vow against tobacco products use

More than five million school children across the state took the pledge
against using and discouraging others from using addictive substances such as tobacco, pan masala and alcohol on International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

A state-level event also was held jointly organised by the Departments of Excise and Education, Government of Kerala and Tobacco Free Kerala, in which more than 100 school students took the pledge.

Inaugurating the event the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Kerala Shri.Oommen Chandy reiterated the Government's decision to strictly enforce the ban on pan masala and gutkha containing tobacco and nicotine in Kerala.

He called upon the traders and dealers of such products to cooperate with the ban.

"Based on request from the trading community and considering practicalities, we gave a month's time (till June 15) to remove their existing stock of pan masala products. The Government will strictly implement this ban since the allowed deadline is already over."

The Chief Minister said that the Government had banned the sale of pan masala and other addictive substances around 400 metres of educational institutions to keep away and completely discourage students from their use.

"Several people filed cases in the Court against this decision, but the Hon'ble Court also took a favourable stance, recognising the underlying social commitment."

The Government's strategy to tackle the drug menace is two-pronged - reducing availability and spreading awareness.

"The Government will give all possible support and encouragement to anti-drug/narcotic clubs in schools," Shri.Chandy added.

The Chief Minister gave away the trophy and cash award of Rs.10,000 to GM UP School, Malappuram for showcasing the best performance at the state-level in spreading the message against use of drugs.

Adopting a participatory approach, the school and its students have used tools such as essay competitions, rallies and seminars in their fight against drugs and addictive substances.

Shri.Oommen Chandy also presented Mr.Jyothish Kumar of Kannur with a cash award of Rs.10,000 and a certificate for designing the official logo for the anti-drug campaign activities of the Excise Department.

In his presidential address, Shri.K.Babu, Hon'ble Minister for Excise outlined the awareness programmes conducted by the Excise Department in the last one year against drug abuse. He also remembered the decision to ban pan masala around 400 metres of schools was taken in the Cabinet meeting held on World No Tobacco Day 2011.

Worshipful Mayor of Trivandrum Corporation Adv.K.Chandrika administered the pledge to the gathered students.

Shri.Sarath Chandra Prasad Ex MLA, Shri.Anil X IAS, Excise Commissioner and Shri.R.K.Srikumaran Chettiyar, Joint Excise Commissioner also spoke.

Shri.P.Janardana Aiyar, Hon.Secretary, Regional Cancer Association and Dr.K.Jayakrishnan, Associate Professor, Department of Community Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum were also present on the occasion.

Poster Exhibition

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Who will bell the cat?

Tobacco users looking to quit are often asked to seek help from their physicians or doctors. There are numerous studies that have authenticated that advice and help of a doctor can increase quit rates.

But the big question here is, can doctors give adequate advice if they themselves are under the influence of smoking and tobacco use.

Evidence of high (22.4%) prevalence of smoking among health care personnel, especially wannabe doctors, comes from a study of current smoking among 333 medical students, selected randomly from four batches of a teaching institution.

The study titled 'Prevalence and factor associated with current smoking among medical students in coastal South India,' analysed students in a cross-sectional study conducted during January and February 2009. The study subjects were given a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire and smoking status as per the WHO criteria.

More significantly, the study found widespread deficiencies in knowledge that smoking was an important causal factor for many diseases like gastro-intenstinal malignancy, heart problems, asthma and emphysema among students of different classes.

Further, only half of the study subjects were willing to quit smoking. Like with other student population, here too, peer pressure emerged as a major that got the medical students hooked on to this habit.

Who will bell the call then?

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22710529

Image courtesy: Science Photo Library

Saturday 16 June 2012

Crippling tobacco industry

Tobacco industry makes a crippling effect on India. On the face of it, this may sound indignant as the tobacco industry contributes $1.62 billion annually, largely from cigarette-tax revenue, as per Planning Commission's figures.

A more detailed understanding of the subject would reveal that the annual direct health cost of three tobacco- related diseases (cancer, coronary artery diseases and chronic obstructive lung diseases) is $6.32 billion.

All the more debilitating is the fact that the Indian tobacco industry uses 1.7 million child labourers in the bidi rolling sector. The industry favours children for they are more agile at rolling bidis.

For all their hard work, children earn less than $2 a day. Body pain and posture problems due to long hours (10-14) of sitting the same position and exposure to lung diseases like tuberculosis and asthma are just some of the bonuses!

Besides, the children are deprived their rightful education and a chance to live their childhood.

Little wonder on the productivity loss that the country will face when 1.7 million children grow up without education or any other life-enhancing skills!

Image courtesy and source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/1207174/1/.html
Ref: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-29/india/31254073_1_tobacco-production-world-lung-foundation-cigarette-production

Wednesday 13 June 2012

'Life Se Panga Mat Le Yaar' may trigger quitting behaviour

It can be a fair bet that tobacco users who saw or heard popular playback singer Shaan's lilting song 'Life Se Panga Mat Le Yaar' would have given a serious thought to quitting this addictive habit, as evidenced by findings of a recent study conducted by UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies.

The study, 'The impact of media campaigns on smoking cessation activity: A Structural Vector Autoregression Analysis,' concluded that tobacco control media campaigns appear to be more effective at triggering quitting behaviour than pharmaceutical company NRT campaigns.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of tobacco control media campaigns and pharmaceutical company-funded advertising for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) on smoking cessation activity.

It used tobacco control campaign data from the Central Office of Information and commercial NRT campaign data. Data on calls to the NHS stop smoking helpline from the Department of Health. Point of Sale data on over-the-counter (OTC) sales of NRT and Prescribing data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), a database of UK primary care records were also used.

Coming back to 'Life Se Pang Mat Le Yaar', this video was created as part of the tobacco control campaign of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The track is targeted towards youth and adolescents all over the country and sends a strong message that life without tobacco is a life worth living.

The music video has Shaan dancing with children, encouraging them to take all problems in their stride and not to make things worse for themselves by consuming tobacco. Hence, tobacco use is a “panga” they can well live without.

The entire video has a very pro-life stance, is youth centric and speaks of their dreams and aspirations.

The Ministry had in May 2011 appointed Shaan as the tobacco control ambassador of India.

Monday 11 June 2012

'Cool' cigarettes may cause harsh cancers

For many, smoking is a status symbol and a style statement. The more the brand appeal of the cigarette, the more bulkier the purse of the smoker, so it is believed.

Smokers are heard boasting away about their cherished brand - its texture, aroma and or smoothness.

A category of cigarettes that finds favour by avid smokers for their smoothness is the menthol cigarettes. They are much sought after by avid smokers as they help to disguise the harsh taste of tobacco and create a cool feeling in the mouth and throat.

But studies have shown this apparent coolness and smoothness trigger increased disease-incidence.

Specifically, a study titled 'Effect of menthol on the penetration of tobacco carcinogens and nicotine across porcine oral mucosa ex vivo,' published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research revealed that presence of menthol increased the flux of tobacco carcinogens.

Porcine buccal (BM) and floor of mouth (FM) mucosa permeability of tobacco-related nitrosamine, NNN was significantly increased with addition of menthol.

Menthol, a monocyclic terpene alcohol that occurs naturally in the plants of the Mentha species and is the major component of peppermint oil, improves taste in smoke and reduces its harshness.

This encourages deeper inhalation and longer retention of cigarette smoke in the lungs that, in turn, could increase tar exposure and the amount of tobacco carcinogens (TCs) entering the blood stream.

So beware all smokers, your cigarette may be 'cool', but there's no escaping the harshness of cancer.

Source: Nicotine & Tobacco Research

Image courtesy: Hispanically Speaking News

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Poignant story of a tobacco victim

All because of tobacco use, Navin Khanna of Delhi suffers from poor quality of life today.

Two years ago, he was diagnosed with oral cancer, changing his and his family's life forever.

More well-known as India's crow man, Navin holds a Limca record for his friendship with wild crows.

Also a mining engineer and writer, he confesses to paying scant regard to warning messages given on gutkha packets.

His wife Sunila Khanna says, "People would stare at his disfigured face and enquire how it happened. Their concern and sympathy would vanish when they hear it was caused due to tobacco use."

In this poignant narrative, Naveen shares his battle with oral cancer and how tobacco use brought about a down-turn to his otherwise healthy and hearty life ...

Courtesy: IBN Live

Monday 4 June 2012

Gutkha use may cause sexual life impairment

Much has been said about the fact that smokeless-tobacco induces cancers, but it is a lesser known fact that use of these products may lead to impaired reproductive health and sexual dysfunction among males and females.

A path-breaking study conducted by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh has found that constituents of gutkha can alter the production of sex hormones such as testosterone in males and oestrogen in females.

The study conducted in animals also found that gutkha use affects the normal function of a key family of enzymes, known as CYP-450 that is responsible for the production of these hormones. The hormone testosterone, produced by the testicles, is responsible for proper development of male sexual characteristics and sexual function.