People both smokers and non-smokers alike, may not know tobacco use risks of cancer at many sites in our body in addition to the lungs. In India near about 240 million tobacco users constitute nearly one-third of the 0.8 billion tobacco users in the developing workd<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib001">1</xref>. The consequences are alarming. Tobacco claims the lives of 6,30,000 Indians every year and most of them die at their young age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib002">2</xref>, which is 6.6% of the total population. In fact 60% of Indians starts smoking before 20 years of age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib003">3</xref>.Bidi popular in rural India, is even more dangerous. Bidi smokers have 40% higher risk of developing cancer than cigarette smokers<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>. According to World Health Organization (W.H.O) by 2020 A.D. tobacco use is estimated to cause 13.3% of all deaths in India. Nearly half of all cancer cases in India are tobacco related and over three fifths of those below 40 years of their age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib005">5</xref> and oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in India has long been linked with the habit of betel quid chewing incorporation with tobacco. Oral cancer is one of the major public health problem in our country. It constitutes 12% of all cancers in men and 8% of all cancers among women<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>.World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is celebrated around the world every year on May, 31st. This year WNTD will focus on the role of the fashion and film world in forstering the tobacco epidemic and urge them to stop being used and vehicles of death and diseases. The WNTD theme for 2003 is tobacco free films, tobacco free fashion and tobacco free action. Bollywood the Indian film industries in the city of Mumbai were invited to participate in the worldwide movement to rid films of their tobacco promoting roles.Alarmed by the aggressive attempts of multinational tobacco companies to expand their market in our country we should invite all section of the society, including the non-government organizations, to create broad based partnerships that will advance the agenda of tobacco control in this region by improving the awareness about the dreaded effect of tobacco use through appropriate educational and regulatory interventions.</sec></body><back><ref-list><title>References

IJCM

Indian Journal of Community Medicine

0970-218

Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine

ijcm-30-1-001

EDITORIAL

Tobacco Related Cancers - An Emerging Public Health Problem in INDIA

Dam

Amit

Dr.

Department of Community Medicine, Mednapore Medical College: Paschim Medinipure, West Bengal.

12005

30155

People both smokers and non-smokers alike, may not know tobacco use risks of cancer at many sites in our body in addition to the lungs. In India near about 240 million tobacco users constitute nearly one-third of the 0.8 billion tobacco users in the developing workd<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib001">1</xref>. The consequences are alarming. Tobacco claims the lives of 6,30,000 Indians every year and most of them die at their young age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib002">2</xref>, which is 6.6% of the total population. In fact 60% of Indians starts smoking before 20 years of age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib003">3</xref>.Bidi popular in rural India, is even more dangerous. Bidi smokers have 40% higher risk of developing cancer than cigarette smokers<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>. According to World Health Organization (W.H.O) by 2020 A.D. tobacco use is estimated to cause 13.3% of all deaths in India. Nearly half of all cancer cases in India are tobacco related and over three fifths of those below 40 years of their age<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib005">5</xref> and oral cancer and pre-cancerous lesions in India has long been linked with the habit of betel quid chewing incorporation with tobacco. Oral cancer is one of the major public health problem in our country. It constitutes 12% of all cancers in men and 8% of all cancers among women<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>.World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is celebrated around the world every year on May, 31st. This year WNTD will focus on the role of the fashion and film world in forstering the tobacco epidemic and urge them to stop being used and vehicles of death and diseases. The WNTD theme for 2003 is tobacco free films, tobacco free fashion and tobacco free action. Bollywood the Indian film industries in the city of Mumbai were invited to participate in the worldwide movement to rid films of their tobacco promoting roles.Alarmed by the aggressive attempts of multinational tobacco companies to expand their market in our country we should invite all section of the society, including the non-government organizations, to create broad based partnerships that will advance the agenda of tobacco control in this region by improving the awareness about the dreaded effect of tobacco use through appropriate educational and regulatory interventions.</sec></body><back><ref-list><title>References1

Health Situation in the South-East Asian Region 1994-97

1998

New Delhi

W.H.O. Regional Office

I.C.M.R. Bulletin 2001.

Meheta

F.S.

Hamner

J.F.

Tobacco related oral mucosal lesions & conditions in India

1993

Tata Inst. of Fundamental Reserch

Health Research & Development W.H.O.1996

Hamada

G.S.

Comparative epiderniology of oral cancer in Brazil & India.

Tokai J Exp. Clin Med.1991Mar.16(1)6372.