Recently there has been uproar in India over one of the BJP MP’s view that there is no clear proof that cancer is linked to cigarette smoking. He wanted to know the chemical and medical proof of ill effects of smoking. He went to the extent of saying that there was no Indian study to confirm that tobacco use leads to cancer. He quoted some of the persons known to him being healthy despite long term heavy smoking. This was the same observation when I used to advise my smoking patients to quit smoking for healthier life.
India is the second largest consumer of tobacco. Tobacco products like Gutka, bidies, cigarettes, snuff are easily available addiction forming drugs. The main problem of not quitting smoking is that not all those who smoke will get disease and usually they get disease after many years of smoking. But nobody knows that which smoker will escape disease. In India, annually…
