Ahead of the World Tobacco Day tomorrow, the magnitude of tobacco use in Meghalaya is a cause of concern.
According to the National Health Mission (NHM), there is an alarming sign of the prevalence of tobacco consumption in the State.
In Meghalaya 53.7 per cent of men, 9.5 per cent of women and 31.6 per cent of all adults currently smoke tobacco.
11.6 per cent of men, 29.1 per cent of women and 20.3 per cent of all adults currently consume smokeless tobacco.
Further, 59.8 per cent of men, 34.2 per cent of women and 47.0 per cent of all adults either smoke tobacco or use smokeless tobacco.
“The data signifies a very alarming sign of the prevalence of tobacco consumption and the menace through it if the users are not concerned enough to take a firm decision to just stop using tobacco,” NHM said today.
Meanwhile, East Khasi Hills district has the highest relative proportion of cancer associated with use of tobacco with 70.4 per cent and 46.5 per cent of males and females respectively.
“It has been observed that the magnitude of tobacco use has increased drastically over the years, capturing every geographic location be it in urban, sub-urban or rural areas. The folks of any gender and age are prone to serious diseases from tobacco addiction. Tobacco not only affects the users but it also indirectly affects the non users by inhaling the smoke of the users,” NHM said.
It also said that the Covid-19 pandemic has led tobacco users wanting to quit. “However, quitting tobacco is challenging, especially with the added social and economic stresses brought about by the pandemic,” it added.
According to NHM, there are immediate and long-term health benefits to quitting tobacco.
“After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, the heart rate drops. Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in the blood drops to normal. Within 2–12 weeks, the circulation improves and lung function increases. Within 1–9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Within 5–15 years, the risk of getting a stroke is reduced to that of a non-smoker. Within 10 years, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, the risk of heart disease is that of a non-smoker,” it said.
“Therefore, calling every individual user to reaffirm their commitment to quit the use of tobacco in any form, quitting can be challenging, especially for the ones who are captivated with the addiction to tobacco. However, if our commitment is strong, nothing can stop us because there are still a lot of reasons to quit,” NHM added
NHM also said that the only way to win over the battle is to win the individual’s perception and the decision to stop should begin from personal level without any external coercion.
