Dhenkanal: It is not surprising that tobacco use continues to be a global epidemic. Around 4500 people from Odisha die due to tobacco-related diseases every year. Almost 40% of all cancer cases in Odisha arise out of heavy usage of tobacco-related products. These shocking figures came out during an awareness seminar organised at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal by district health department under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP)
The keynote speaker, Dr Niranjan Mishra, Chief District Medical and Public Health Officer (CDM & PHO), deliberated upon the various issues related to tobacco consumption and its effects on human health and society.
Addressing the students he said, “Tobacco will kill up to half of its users by 2030. The total consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in developed countries. India and China constitute 40 per cent of global tobacco users.”
He also said that 80% of the world’s cancer in males resulted from tobacco use. A person who smokes dies an average 7 years earlier than someone who doesn’t smoke. He urged the budding journalists to play a proactive role in making the society Tobacco-free.
In his concluding remarks, Dr Mrinal Chatterjee, Regional Director, IIMC, Dhenkanal, said, “Today the IIMC Dhenkanal has become a tobacco-free campus. The sooner you quit, the sooner you can stop the damage that smoking has caused. Spending behaviour on tobacco is difficult to curb because Tobacco is so addictive. A complete ban on the production of tobacco products would be the better way to make India tobacco-free.”
The participating students also shared their views on the anti-tobacco campaign and promised to promote the messages more effectively even after joining the media.
The one-day programme concluded with a quiz competition among the students on various aspects of the anti-tobacco campaign.
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