In India every year more than 15 lakh people die because of the use of tobacco products. Although what’s more worrying is that small children from the age of 5-10 years start chewing tobacco.
Just one visit to a cancer hospital and you will end up seeing school and college going students showing serious symptoms of cancer.
Tobacco products can be of two types:-
A person crushing and chewing tobacco outside a paan shop.
SYMPTOMS
- Alerasion (wearing down) of teeth
- Staining of teeth
- Tooth loss
- Tooth decay
- Leukoplakia
- Gum diseases
- Gum recession
Increased risk of the following cancer
- Cheek
- Gums
- Lips
- Tongue
- Floor and roof of mouth
Chewing Tobacco or more commonly known as Gutka, which is prepared by crushing the areca nut is sold across India under different names like chaini, baba, rajnigandha, tulsi, swagat etc. It is sold in sachets from price ranging from Re. 1 to Rs. 10.
Their easy availability and cheap rates have made them easily accessible for small children, furthermore the tobacco companies use masked advertising, where they advertise them as mouth freshners and use a different packet in advertisement, when compared to what is sold by the vendors.
Chewing tobacco increases the risk of mouth cancer many times more than when compared to smoking.
Case Studies
Mr S S, age 23 started chewing tobacco when he was 12 years old and studying at a school in his village, he got the idea to experiment with tobacco when he saw his father mixing it in his paan. When he first chewed tobacco he felt dizzy and light headed, but gradually he started to enjoy its flavour and the kick it gave. He then started chewing the tobacco all day, he only used to spit it out when he had to eat or drink something. The continuous intake of tobacco has stained his teeth yellow and his gums have worn off terribly, but the most serious damage has been done to his tongue, where he has developed cancer. He recently was lucky enough to get treated at a government hospital by a reference from a doctor, but due to the damage done by tobacco and resulting cancer, he won’t be able to speak again in his life.
FACTS
40% kids under the age of 15 years in rural areas of India are addicted to some form of chewing tobacco.
SYMPTOMS
- Feeling high urge to smoke at the time of depression, stress and anxiety.
- Not hanging out at places, where smoking is not allowed
- Smoking, despite having health problems
- Must smoke after regular intervals of time
- Severe withdrawal signs, when stopped smoking ( shaky hands, sweating, irritation and headache)
- Always smelling of smoke
- Increase in blood pressure and heart rate
- Temper problems when unable to smoke
- Reduction in sperm count
FACTS
More than 1 billion people in the world is addicted to smoking.
Smoking cigarette, biris are the common forms of smoking tobacco.
Smoking is at an all time rise in India with over 10 % of the world smokers are Indians causing more than 9 lakh death related to smoking every year.
Smoking releases a chemical in the body known as carbon monoxide, which reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen in different parts of the body as a result smoking damages every organ of the body in one way or another.
It increases the risks of developing cancer , tuberculosis and cataract in the body.
For women who are pregnant and they continue to smoke during this process, the chances of her child’s death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is very high.
The brain while smoking gets dependent on nicotine which is present in every tobacco product, and starts demanding it regularly after periods of time making the smoker restless, anxious and fidgety as soon as He/she smokes they feel a sense of satisfaction and relaxation due to fulfilment of the need for nicotine.
Smoking has become increasingly acceptable socially and among teenagers it is perceived as a cool thing to do, making its use among all sectors of society very prevalent.
Case Studies
Mr S B, 41 a corporate lawyer by profession started smoking cigarettes, when he was 17 years old under his friend’s influence. From smoking 2-3 cigarettes in a day, he currently smokes 40-45 cigarettes in a day. He states smoking helps him cope up with work pressure he has to face every day and relaxes him. If he goes without smoking a cigarette even for an hour, he gets extremely fidgety and irritated. He has developed problems of blood pressure and excessive coughing over a period of time, but the temptation of holding and smoking a cigarette is still there. He has huge arguments with his wife, who doesn’t allow him to smoke inside the house. Recently he got a minor heart attack; due to P.A.D (Peripheral Arterial Disease) it’s a condition where plaque builds up in the arteries that carries blood. He was discharged from hospital after being kept in the ICU for 5 days. Mr S B now is determined to quit smoking and is taking treatment to deal with the withdrawals that include headache, anxiety and restlessness.
