By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : In India, tobacco kills 8-9 lakh people every year,Manipur third highest tobacco consumer in India. Manipur is ranked third in the consumption of tobacco and allied products in India, according to the State Nodal Officer of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), Dr Somorjit Ningombam. About 55 per cent adults in the State use tobacco and each adult spends an average of Rs 350 a month on tobacco products.Dr Somorjit was speaking on the ill effects of tobacco during a daylong orientation programme of the NTCP at the DRDA conference hall in the Senapati district headquarters recently. The event was organised by the District Health Society, Senapati.

Dr Somorjit also said that tobacco is one of the common risk factors of major non-communicable diseases like cancer, killing six million people every year. About 0.6 million people face premature death due to passive smoking. In India, tobacco kills 8-9 lakh people every year. About 2,500 Indians die every day due to tobacco-related diseases. Nearly 89 per cent of smokers become addicted to tobacco by the age of 18 years, he pointed out. The NTCP State nodal officer stated that smokers have 20-25 times greater risk of developing lung cancer; 2-3 times greater risk of getting heart attacks; three times greater risk of sudden death and 30-60 times greater risk of getting sick. He highlighted that cancer caused by tobacco consumption is detected in the mouth, throat, lungs, larynx, food pipe, urinary bladder, kidney, pancreas and cervix. Additional Public Prosecutor of Senapati, A Koshia, speaking as a resource person in the orientation programme, said that the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, was enacted by the Parliament on the 54th year of the Republic of India to regulate trade and commerce in, and production, supply and distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Participating in the programme, Senapati DC Somorjit Salam said that the Act would be implemented in the district soon. The District Health Society, Senapati, also conducted blood tests, sugar tests, liver and kidney function tests for people who attended the programme.