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Mumbai: Tobacco consumption has been blamed for the sharp rise in cancer cases in the country and the nearly 400,000 deaths it causes each year.
According to the World Health Organisation, cancer has been growing at a rate of 11 per cent annually in India on account of widespread tobacco consumption.
With an estimated 2.5 million cancer cases and nearly 0.8 million new cases adding up by the year, scientific projections show there could be a 50 per cent increase in cancer deaths by the year 2015.
The rather grim statistics were revealed at a function in Mumbai yesterday that saw Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari presenting the annual awards of the Cancer Aid and Research Foundation to various cancer specialists.
"It is time society put in some efforts to stop tobacco consumption since medical experts point out that incidence of cancer deaths can be halved if this addiction is curbed," Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir said in his address.
Jamir said society needed to avoid the "glorification" of tobacco products in the media and also make a conscious attempt to keep itself forewarned of the dangers of tobacco consumption.
Even though the government was making serious efforts to dissuade the youth from the tobacco habit, the change would ultimately have to come from within the family and, in a larger perspective, from society and the youth themselves, said Jamir.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, more than 300 billion rupees is spent each year due to battle the disease burden of tobacco consumption.
With very few cancer hospitals in the country and the treatment costs prohibitive for most, the focus needed to shift to prevention and early detection and treatment, Jamir observed.
"I strongly feel that general hospitals in every district should have a basic set-up for cancer detection. This will not only help early diagnosis but will also reduce the mounting burden on hospitals in big cities like Mumbai," he said, praising the Cancer Aid and Research Foundation for constructing its own modern Kokan Cancer Hospital in Ratnagiri in coastal Maharashtra.
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