CHENNAI: As part of observing “world no tobacco day’ today, the city government general hospital organised a ‘human chain’, which was formed by doctors, nurses, medical and nursing students and workers in front of Madras Medical College. From human chains to placards the underlying message was use of tobacco in any form was injurious to health and should be stopped. The theme this year was ‘Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)’. “Tobacco kills one in 10 adults worldwide and one person every six seconds. While the number of smokers has dipped in the developed nation, 80 per cent of the smokers live in underdeveloped countries like India,” Dr Chandra Mohan, Rajiv Gandhi General hospital noted.“One cigarette contains 4,000 chemicals, of which at least 50 cause cancer,” he added. A WHO survey suggests that tobacco kills half of its users. It is the second leading cause of death in the world after hypertension. Worldwide, the annual death toll caused by tobacco is 50 lakh, which might rise to 80 lakh by 2030 the report says.There are more than 27 crore users in India alone. Though India has one of the most comprehensive tobacco control laws in the world, it is the second largest in terms of tobacco consumption. The annual death toll in India is 10 lakh. By 2030, 13 per cent of deaths in India will be caused by tobacco. Half the children breathe tobacco polluted air and over 40 per cent have atleast one smoking parent. Passive smoking causes 6 lakh premature deaths annually. One in 3 victims of second hand smoke is a child, the report says. The theme ‘FCTC’ created by World health Assembly in 1987 provides framework to protect present and future generations from devastating consequences of tobacco. Health Minister for State, VS Vijay was also present at the event.
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