Specialists urge for amendments in tobacco control act

Additionally, 58 Hospital Based Cancer Registries (HBCRs) provided cancer data, a press release issued here on Thursday said.

Hyderabad: According to the National Cancer Registry Programme Report released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), the nationwide cancer cases in 2025 will be at 15.7 lakh, from an estimated 13.9 lakh cases in 2020. That is approximately 12 per cent increase in cases in India.

These estimates were based on information related to cancer collected from 28 Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs). Additionally, 58 Hospital Based Cancer Registries (HBCRs) provided cancer data, a press release issued here on Thursday said.

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On World Cancer Day, i.e. February 4, cancer specialists requested everyone to join in the global fight against cancer as every individual can play a part in reducing premature deaths from this disease. In India, the tobacco related cancers make up for 27.1 per cent of all the cancer cases, experts pointed out.

According to reports, India has an estimated 268 million tobacco users, which makes up for 28.6 per cent of the adult population, making it the country with the second highest number of tobacco users globally. Of these, about 12 lakh die from tobacco related diseases, with Rs. 1.04 lakh crore costing towards the direct and indirect health consequences due to tobacco.

In Telangana, 17.8 per cent of adults use tobacco in some form or the other, with 8.3 per cent smoking cigarettes, 4.2 per cent smoking beedis and 5.2 per cent using smokeless tobacco, according to a report by Global Adult Tobacco Survey India 2009-2010.

“Considering the tobacco burden on health and economy in our country, there is an urgent need for amendments in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) amendments bill 2020 in the interest of public health and India’s future and its youth,” said Dr. Vijay kumar Chennamchetty, Senior Consultant Interventional Pulmonologist, Apollo Health City, on World Cancer Day.

Dr. K Sreekanth, Senior Consultant Surgical Oncologist at Yashoda Hospital, Somajiguda, said, “it is truly depressing to see ever increasing number of young cancer victims in corridors of cancer centers in India. We request the government to amend the tobacco control act in larger interest of younger generation who is falling prey to this tobacco menace and suffer premature death.

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