By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : Over 400,000 Indians die every year from cancer and the disease is growing 11 percent annually – thanks to the widespread tobacco consumption in the country.
The health ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and independent experts believe over 50 percent of the cancer cases stem from tobacco consumption.
“Tobacco is now the number one killer. Unless we curb tobacco consumption, it would be very difficult to reduce a huge mortality rate and the loss of human workforce due to cancer,” Vikas Bajpai, a senior oncologist in the capital, told IANS.
According to the WHO, cancer is one of the top 10 killers in India. “At present there are 2.5 million cancer cases and nearly 0.8 million new cases occurring every year,” says the WHO official website.
Agreeing with the Indian cancer registry, the global health watchdog has said that it kills over 400,000 Indians every year.
Portraying a grim picture of the cancer situation in India, the WHO has predicted that by 2015 India will witness over 50 percent growth in deaths due to cancer, that is, over 666,000 people will die every year in India by 2015 due to the disease.
“A decade ago, nearly 80 percent of the cancer patients were people above 50 years of age. But now the disease is affecting much younger people. I have treated breast cancer in a 22-year-old girl and lower intestine cancer in just a 18-year-old,” said Amit Bhargav, a leading oncologist with the Max Healthcare institute.
“You can safely blame tobacco and alcohol for young people succumbing to cancer. I will say healthy diet, freedom from smoke and alcohol, happy family and pollution-free atmosphere can reduce India’s cancer burden by at least 70 percent,” Bhargav told IANS.
He claimed that though the government says 400,000 people die every year, the real figure might not be less than 700,000.
According to the National Cancer Registry, the incidence of cancer in India stands at 36.21 per 100,000 males and 45.02 per 100,000 females.
Cancer can affect head and neck, the intestine, breast, oral cavity, cervix uteri (uterus), prostate and, most importantly, lungs. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women and lungs and oral cancer is common among men.
Expressing concern over the rise of cancer cases in India, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said that tobacco is the main reason behind such deaths and his ministry is taking all necessary steps to curb its consumption.
“We are going to make a pictorial warning on all tobacco packets mandatory by June 1. The ministry and the government is on its way to make work atmosphere smoke-free across the country,” Ramadoss said.
Health ministry officials said a national task force has been constituted for developing a “Strategy for Cancer Control in India during the 11th Five-Year Plan” (2007-12).
New initiatives include information, education, communication (IEC) activities, research, monitoring and evaluation of the disease.
According to the Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR), India loses above Rs.300 billion every year due to tobacco consumption and subsequent disease burdens.
Monika Arora, director of NGO Hriday, said that smoke-free workplace is a must to reduce the burden of cancer and heart disease. “I think the revenue loss due to tobacco consumption is much more than the revenue earned from the tobacco industry,” she said.
Arora and her organisation work for creating tobacco-free environment in schools, colleges and universities across India.
“In up to 50 percent of cancer cases among men, tobacco is the key factor and over 20 percent of women fall prey to cancer due to the tobacco use,” she added.