by NR Indran / INT

Mumbai : A new status report released yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that tobacco will kill nearly six million people worldwide this year.  Without urgent action, tobacco will kill 8 million people every year by 2030, 80 percent of them in developing countries. Yet the report states that several countries are making significant, measurable progress in implementing proven measures to reduce tobacco use, the world’s leading cause of preventable death.

The report also mentions that many countries still have a long way to go and must step up their efforts to reverse the tide of a tobacco epidemic that will otherwise kill one billion people worldwide this century.  The tobacco industry is aggressively targeting low and middle-income countries with its deadly products and has intensified its opposition to tobacco control measures around the world.

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Head and Neck Surgeon from theTata Memorial Hospital said “As per the Ministry of Health 27 crore Indians are currently using tobacco. It is anticipated that approximately 9 crore Indians will die prematurely due to tobacco. On an average a tobacco user loses nearly decade of his life due to various illnesses such as heart attack, stroke, cancer, lung diseases etc. WHO aims to bring down the prevalence of tobacco usage to 4% by 2040 that is currently 25% inIndia. Unless we start acting now, tobacco is going to hamper our economic growth too. ”

The report finds that more than one billion people in 19 countries are now protected by laws requiring graphic health warnings that cover over 50 percent of the space on tobacco packages. Research from around the world has shown that large, graphic warnings are most effective at informing consumers about the health risks of tobacco use, motivating smokers to quit and discouraging non-smokers, including children, from starting.

The report mentions that a total of 739 million people in 31 countries are now protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws.  In addition, 210 million people are protected by smoke-free laws at the state or local level.

India was among the first countries to sign and ratify the WHO Framework convention for tobacco control. The Indian parliament passed a comprehensive tobacco control legislation COTPA 2003 and has since notified several parts of the ACT. The implementation however remains poor on several COTPA rules. As per the India Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-2010, Three in Ten adults visiting public places are exposed to second-hand smoke. 26% of the non-smoking population in indoor workplaces is exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke, where as more than 50% of the adult population is exposed to second-hand smoke at home.

The Smokefree Mumbai Campaign, championed by doctors from the Tata Memorial Hospital, has been working towards making Mumbai a tobacco-smoke-free city. Last year, in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation and AHAR, the restaurants implemented smokefree regulations. While, in collaboration with the BEST undertaking, the Traffic department, taxi unions and RTO the current focus of the campaign is on making public transport in Mumbai Smokefree.

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Dr. Surendra Shastri, Head of Preventive Oncology of the Tata Memorial Hospital said that “while we are happy to report progress on our efforts to make the city smokefree and are very pleased with the cooperation received from various stakeholders, we are sorely disappointed with the Government of India’s procrastination on the important issue of strong graphic warnings on tobacco packages and the depiction of smoking in films”.

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