Going up in smoke

But the fact remains that cigarettes still remain the prime cause of cancer worldwide.

Cigarette smoking is known to cause 87 per cent of lung cancer deaths, says Dr A B Ranade, medical oncologist at Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital.

Be it men or women, lung cancer is the prime killer and its relation with smoking is well documented.

According to estimates by the World Health Organisation WHO, 8 lakh people die from tobacco-related diseases every year in India alone.

Every cigarette reduces the life of smokers by 5.5 minutes.

According to Ranade, there are an estimated 2 to 2.5 million cases of cancer in India currently. Ten lakh new cancer cases are detected and 3.5 lakh die every year. By 2025, there will be a 500 per cent increase in cancer cases, of which, 220 per cent would be tobacco related.

Smoking is also responsible for most cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, and bladder. In addition, it is a cause of kidney, pancreatic, cervical, stomach cancers as well as blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia.

Added to this are the other ill effects of smoker8217;s breath, frequent respiratory infections, advanced aging process, money spent and the pollution belched out into the atmosphere.

Evidence continues to mount that smoking during pregnancy affects the unborn child. Developmental growth and birth weight in babies of smoking mothers is lower than babies of non-smoking mothers.

Children of smokers are also two and a half times more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome SIDS, or crib death. Secondhand smoke exposure, also known as environmental tobacco smoke ETS or passive smoking, is also known to lead to cardiovascular events and lung cancer.

The cause is the deadly cocktail of drugs cigarettes contain.

Right from ethyl 2-furoate8212;a chemical considered for use in chemical warfare8212;to arsenic and hydrogen cyanide, tobacco pumps it all and more, in your system.

Among the 60-odd cancer-causing substances in cigarettes are aminobiphenyl promotes liver/bladder cancer, nickel an organ specific carcinogen, naphythlamine a bladder carcinogen, toluidine a bladder carcinogen, benzopyrene a cancer promoter.

The economic and health costs are staggering, considering that 60 per cent of the Indian population accesses healthcare by taking on loans or by selling property and assets.

More and more kids lighting up

8226; Nearly one in five 13 to 15-year-old students worldwide use tobacco products, according to a new WHO survey.

8226; The study, conducted by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey alongwith WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Canadian Public Health Association, was begun in 1999.

8226; In it, students from more than 130 countries responded to questions about tobacco, including personal use, secondhand exposure and advertising

8226; 17.3 per cent of respondents said they were using some form of tobacco.

8226; The overall rates of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use were 8.9 per cent and 11.2 per cent.

8226; Closer home, oncologists are horrified about the increasing use of tobacco among children. Dr C B Koppiker, oncologist with Ruby Hall Clinic, says 13 per cent of children are getting addicted to tobacco before they leave school

8226; The findings have prompted the Prashanti Cancer Care Mission to create awareness at schools. 8220;We have roped in 14 schools in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad for the programme,8221; says Rama Sivaram, Director, Outreach and Research, at the Mission.