Report: India accounts to 86 percent Oral Cancer Figure across the World

Experts of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) in first week of February released a report on the harmful effects of gutka. It reported that 86 percent of the total oral cancer figure across the world accounted to India. A total of 75000 to 80000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in India itself.

In case of India the maximum number of cancer was a result of tobacco chewing, because Indians chew tobacco more than smoking. India consists of 14 percent smoking tobacco users and 26 percent chewing tobacco users.

As per the report tobacco is responsible for creating 1.5 lakh cancer patients, 4.2 million heart diseases and 3.7 million lung diseases in India every year, making India an oral cancer capital. The statistics released by the Health Ministry 65 percent cancers in India are caused due to the use of tobacco. Other data released reveled that a third of the annual 5.6 million cancer deaths in India occurs due to the excessive use of tobacco. The rate of oral cancer reported in India is about twice the global average.

In 2008 cancer was the cause of 7.6 million deaths worldwide. In case of men from South-East Asia Region, oral and lung cancers are the most prevalent ones and breast and cervical cancers are mainly found in women.

The Government of India invests a sum of 300 billion rupees per year approximately on treatment of tobacco related illness via both private and public spending. It accounts to one-fourth of the total spending on health issues in the country. About 2500 persons die every day in India due to diseases related to tobacco.