Dr. Pfukrolo Koza
President, Indian Dental Association, Nagaland State Branch
Every year, on 31 May, WHO and partners across the world mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is “Tobacco – a threat to development”.
About the campaign: It will demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens.
It will propose measures that governments and the public should take to promote health and development by confronting the global tobacco crisis.
WHO is highlighting how tobacco threatens the development of nations worldwide, and is calling on governments to implement strong tobacco control measures. These include banning marketing and advertising of tobacco, promoting plain packaging of tobacco products, raising excise taxes, and making indoor public places and workplaces smoke-free.
Tobacco’s health and economic costs: "Tobacco is a major barrier to development globally;" says Dr Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Department for the Prevention on NCDs. "Tobacco-related death and illness are drivers of poverty, leaving households without breadwinners, diverting limited household resources to purchase tobacco products rather than food and school materials, and forcing many people to pay for medical expenses.
Tobacco-related illness is one of the biggest public health threats the world faces, currently killing more than 7 million people every year and costs households and governments over US$ 1.4 trillion through healthcare expenditure and lost productivity. But tobacco use also is one of the largest preventable causes of non-communicable diseases(NCDs). Tobacco control represents a powerful tool in improving health in communities and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG target 3.4 is to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030, including cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes.
The Government of India has enacted the national tobacco-control legislation namely, “The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (prohibition of advertisement and regulation of trade and commerce,: production, supply and distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003” in may 2003 and also ratified the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in February 2004. Further, in order to facilitate the effective implementation of tobacco control Law and to fulfil the obligations under WHO-FCTC, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007-08 in 21 States/Union territories of the country, in which 5 districts in Nagaland has been covered under the programme.
India has the highest incidence of oral cancer in the world because 57% men and 10.9% women in the age group of 15 – 49 years consume tobacco. IDA health initiatives affirm that ---- oral health is very vital to general health and well-being. We are ever mindful that optimal oral health is IDA's ultimate goal which translates into Tobacco Intervention Initiative, Oral Cancer Foundation. The Tobacco Intervention Initiative (TII) is a also IDA nation-wide professionally-led "call to action” nationwide programme to support and eradicate tobacco addiction while striving for a 'tobacco free India' and thus improving the oral health of Indians by the year 2020. Tobacco related oral diseases is also one of the major causes of tooth loss in Nagaland. Tobacco can have many adverse effects on your oral and dental health. Among these effects are:
• Oral cancer
• Periodontal disease, a leading cause of tooth loss in nagaland among tobacco users
• Dental caries
• Delayed healing after a tooth extraction or other oral surgery
• Bad breath
• Stained teeth and tongue
• A diminished sense of taste and smell • Wearing down of tooth structures due to abrasiveness of betel nuts etc
Cigarette smokers, cigar smokers are at increased risk for periodontal disease and staining of the teeth and tongue as well as bad breath. Like cigarettes and cigars, smokeless tobacco products contain a variety of toxins associated with cancer. Smokeless tobacco is known to cause cancers of the mouth, lip, tongue, and pancreas and are at risk for cancer of the voice box, esophagus, colon and bladder, because they swallow some of the toxins in the juice created by using smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco can irritate gum tissue, causing periodontal disease. Sugar is often added to enhance the flavor of smokeless tobacco, increasing the risk for tooth decay. Smokeless tobacco also typically contains sand and grit, which can wear down the teeth.
Today it is a norm for dentists to play a pivotal role in promoting smoking and tobacco cessation; and offering advice and consultation about nicotine replacement therapy, and seeking tobacco-free environments to curb your temptations. Most of the private dental clinics by IDA members in Nagaland even offer oral cancer screening, and referred to higher centre whenever required. As a IDA members also play a proactive role in all our initiatives and setting example by declaring Tobacco Free Clinics throughout the state.
(Courtesy: Health Initiatives; Indian Dental Association (IDA) Nagaland State Branch)
.JPG)
