Oral Cancer

Gory pics on tobacco packs from Dec 1

2011-11-15T12:56:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Finally, gory pictorial warnings like that of rotting mouths, hanging gums and infected lungs, will appear on cigarette, bidi, cigar and smokeless or chewing tobacco packets from December 1.

The Union health ministry issued the notification on Saturday after years of buckling to resistance from the all-powerful tobacco lobby. The latest notification contains a set of four pictures each of lung and oral cancer.
Read More.....
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gory-pics-on-tobacco-packs-from-Dec-1/articleshow/8631187.cms

275m hooked to killer tobacco, survey reveals

2011-11-15T12:52:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Around 275 million people in India -- at 15 years and above use tobacco -- which is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the world.

An average Indian has been found to start using tobacco at 17.8 years. Not many could quit this dangerous habit. The quit ratio for smoking is 13% while that of smokeless tobacco users is 5%.

Shockingly, one in every four female tobacco users are initiated into it before reaching their 15th birthday.

Two in every five daily tobacco users - aged 20-34 -- took to it day in and day out before they had turned 18.

According to the nation's maiden Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS), the findings of which were released by the Union health ministry on Tuesday, India is the second largest consumer of tobacco products and third largest producer of tobacco in the world.
Read more...http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/275m-hooked-to-killer-tobacco-survey-reveals/articleshow/6776085.cms

Survey finds tobacco sold with 100m of schools in 5 states

2011-11-15T12:29:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Tobacco is openly available outside schools even though a ban exists on its sale within 100 yards of a school premise.

A study in five states - Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan - has found that more than 48% of educational institutions had tobacco products being sold within 100 yards.

According to the ministry, nearly 37% children in India start smoking before they reach 10 years, and each day about 5, 500 children begin tobacco use.
Read more....http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Survey-finds-tobacco-sold-with-100m-of-schools-in-5-states/articleshow/10734145.cms

Engineer develops new way to fight wife's cancer

2011-11-11T12:07:00.001+05:30

(CBS News)
In the battle against cancer, there is a promising new treatment -- a high-tech therapy that targets tumors and with fewer painful side effects than chemotherapy. CBS News correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook examines how this treatment was developed.
Mark Davis, a chemical engineer at the California Institute of Technology, was a complete stranger to the world of medicine. His expertise was in the oil industry.
Then in 1995, his wife Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"There were many times during the therapies where I just really wanted to give up," said Mary. "I thought the treatment was going to kill me rather than the disease itself.".
... Read More....
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57322674/engineer-develops-new-way-to-fight-wifes-cancer/

Anti-smoking backers score in ‘tobacco war’

2011-11-08T19:07:00.001+05:30

AFTER a string of setbacks, anti-smoking advocates scored a victory, albeit a small one, when a Las Pinas regional trial court denied a petition of the Philippine Tobacco Institute to stop the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration from enforcing any form of regulation or supervision on tobacco products.

“This is indeed victory for the country! It’s high time public welfare is prioritized over the profit of an industry that ultimately kills its consumers,” Metro Manila Development Authority General Manager Cora Jimenez told the Manila Standard Monday.
The MMDA’s smoke-free campaign in public places along Metro Manila’s major and secondary roads was stopped by a Mandaluyong City RTC after granting the petition of two security guards nabbed by MMDA enforcers for smoking in a public place last September.
Read more.....
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideMetro.htm?f=2011/november/8/metro1.isx&d=2011/november/8

Clearing the air an arduous task

2011-11-08T13:31:00.001+05:30

BEIJING - Many restaurants are seriously polluted by tobacco smoke despite a national smoking ban, according to the results of an investigation by a Beijing-based non-governmental organization (NGO) released on Sunday.
"With no punishment for smokers in public places, many dining places are experiencing serious pollution," said Feng Yongfeng, a senior researcher with the NGO. According to the organization, known as Green Beagle, the concentration of PM2.5 in smoke-free restaurants in the capital, which indicates the density of the tiny airborne pollutants that travel deep into the lungs and damage the respiratory systems, is as high as 61.0 micrograms a cubic meter (ug/m3).
However, the figure for dining places open to smokers soars to 114 ug/m3, while the figure for restaurants with separate smoking sections is 103 ug/m3.
"The figures indicate the smoke-free restaurants are dangerous for sensitive groups and the ones allowing smoking are very unhealthy for all citizens," said Li Qiang, a professor with the Tobacco Control Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
..... Read more at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2011-11/07/content_14046703.htm

How smoking affects your health, skin and fitness

2011-11-08T13:28:00.004+05:30

According to the third edition of The Tobacco Atlas, published by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society, almost 6 million people die every year due to tobacco use.

We all know that smoking affects our lungs and may lead to lung or bronchus cancer, but did you know that it affects your skin and stamina as well? From your heart strength to ocular function; smoking can chronically influence your life, making you vulnerable to many hazardous health conditions. Let's find out what these common health and fitness hazards that occur due to smoking are...
Read more
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/How-smoking-affects-your-health-skin-and-fitness/articleshow/10181065.cms

48% cancers due to tobacco chewing

2011-11-08T13:27:00.004+05:30

CHANDIGARH: On the occasion of National Cancer Awareness Day on Monday, the department of radiotherapy, in collaboration with department of community medicine, PGIMER organized an awareness and early detection camp at Indira Colony, Manimajra.

Nearly 600 people visited the camp and exhibition & about 300 people were examined by the faculty of the hospital.

PGI receives nearly 6,000 new cancer cases every year and this figure is on a rise. Cancer pattern in India reveals the preponderance of tobacco related cancers because besides smoking, tobacco chewing is also an important risk factor. Almost 48% of cancers are related to tobacco in India.
......Read more at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/48-cancers-due-to-tobacco-chewing/articleshow/10649252.cms

How smoking affects your health, skin and fitness

2011-09-30T21:32:00.000+05:30

According to the third edition of The Tobacco Atlas, published by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society, almost 6 million people die every year due to tobacco use.

We all know that smoking affects our lungs and may lead to lung or bronchus cancer, but did you know that it affects your skin and stamina as well? From your heart strength to ocular function; smoking can chronically influence your life, making you vulnerable to many hazardous health conditions. Let's find out what these common health and fitness hazards that occur due to smoking are...
Read more : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/How-smoking-affects-your-health-skin-and-fitness/articleshow/10181065.cms

Tobacco firms kept radioactive link secret

2011-09-30T21:26:00.000+05:30

TOBACCO companies knew for decades that cigarette smoke was radioactive and potentially carcinogenic but kept the information from the public, a new study says.
The industry began investigations into the possible effects of these radioactive particles, identified as polonium-210, on smokers as early as the 1960s, says a study by University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers, who analysed dozens of previously unexamined industry documents.

Smokers Quit With Cheap Remedy Used in Bulgaria for 40 Years

2011-09-29T12:10:00.000+05:30

Interesting study..

+-----------------------------

-------------------------------------------------+

Smokers Quit With Cheap Remedy Used in Bulgaria for 40 Years
2011-09-28 21:00:00.1 GMT

By Marthe Fourcade
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- For as little as $6, there may be a
smoking-cessation remedy that actually works.
A clinical test of Tabex, sold in Eastern Europe for more
than four decades, shows that the plant-based medicine can
triple smokers’ chances of quitting compared with a dummy pill.
The results of a study on 740 people were published today in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
The tablet, developed and sold by Bulgaria’s Sopharma AD,
may help smokers with limited means quit, scientists said. Most
of the 6 million people who die from tobacco use each year are
from low- and middle-income countries, according to the World
Health Organization.
“The benefits of Tabex are comparable with those of other
smoking-cessation treatments, but at a fraction of the cost,”
Robert West of University College London’s Department of
Epidemiology and Public Health, who led the research team, said
in a statement.
“Stopping smoking can be extremely difficult,” West said,
and the study’s results suggest Tabex could become “a practical
option even for the poorest smokers.”
In India, where 20 cigarettes cost about $1.10, a course of
nicotine-replacement therapy costs about $150 and smoking-
cessation drugs as much as $200, West and his colleagues wrote.
In the study, 8.4 percent of patients taking Tabex for 25
days with “minimal” counseling abstained from smoking for a
year, compared with 2.4 percent of those given a placebo. The
smokers who took the plant-based remedy reported more
gastrointestinal upset, the research shows.

Yellow Flowers

Tabex tablets contain cytisine, a substance found in the
seeds of a tree called laburnum that produces yellow pea-
flowers, which mimics the effect of nicotine.
Pfizer Inc.’s Chantix, a smoking-cessation drug available
in the U.S. and Europe on prescription, is also derived from
cytisine. One week’s worth of tablets for a patient taking three
a day costs about $63 on the website drugstore.com.
The absolute difference in rates of tobacco abstinence
between the two patient groups in the Tabex study was lower than
for Chantix and similar to what has been found for nicotine-
replacement therapy, the scientists wrote. University College
London’s Cancer Research U.K. Health Behaviour Research Centre
and the Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology in Warsaw
conducted the research.
Extab Corp. has licensed global rights to Tabex and is
conducting clinical trials designed to meet the standards of
Western regulators, the Delaware-incorporated company said on
its website. Extab is run by Sopharma Chief Executive Officer
Ognian Donev; Rick Stewart, former CEO of Amarin Corp.; and
Anthony Clarke, a researcher with a focus on neurology,
psychiatry and pain management, with the goal of winning
regulatory approval for Tabex, according to the website.
A course of Tabex, which was first sold in Bulgaria in
1964, costs about $15 in Poland and $6 in Russia, where it is
sold over the counter, the study’s authors wrote.

For Related News and Information:
Top health stories: HTOP
FDA regulation of tobacco: TNI FDA TOB BN
Financial analysis of Altria: MO US FA
Bloomberg drug database: BDRG

--Editors: David Risser, Robert Valpuesta.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Marthe Fourcade in Paris at +33-1-5365-5065 or
mfourcade@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Phil Serafino at +33-1-5530-6277 or
pserafino@bloomberg.net

An alternative approach to study the changes in the cancer pattern of men in India (1988-2005).

2011-08-30T20:27:00.002+05:30

Abstract

Background: Changes in cancer pattern are often studied with regard to rank of leading sites, variation in age adjusted rates of sites over the time or with the help of time trends. However, these methods do not quantify the changes in relation to overall changes that occurred in the total cancer cases over the period of time. An alternative approach is therefore necessary, particularly to identify emerging new cancers. Methods: The cancer incidence data of various sites for men, over the periods 1988-90 and 2003-05 in India, for five urban registries namely Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, functioning under the network of National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR), formed the sources of data for the present analysis. Changes in incidence cases by various cancer sites for men are assessed by calculating the differences in incidence cases over the two period of time. Based on the contribution of each site to total change, the ten most leading sites are identified separately for each registry. The relative changes in the sites with time are taken to identify the most emerging new cancer cases over the period of time. Results: The pooled cancer cases for men among five urban registries increased from 30042 cases in 1988-90 to 46946 cases in 2003-05 registering an increase of about 55.8%. The lowest percentage of increase is observed in the registry of Mumbai (25.6%) and the maximum in Bhopal (96.4%). Based on the pooled figures of five urban registries, the lung cancer contributed the maximum % change (9.7%), followed by cancer of prostate (9.2%), mouth (7.5%), tongue (5.9%) and NHL (5.9%). Based on the pooled figures and the relative changes, the emerging new cancers are prostate (140%), liver (112%) and mouth (95%). The % change by sites and the emerging new cancers varied between the registries.

Are oral and dental diseases linked to cancer?

2011-08-30T20:24:00.002+05:30

Abstract

Oral Diseases (2011) doi: 10.1111/j.1601-0825.2011.01837.x Objective: Infection and inflammation play a role in carcinogenesis, and highly prevalent oral and dental diseases have been significantly linked to some types of cancer. This article reviews current literature in this area. Materials and Methods: Open literature review using the PubMed database and focused on publications from 2000 to 2010. Results: Numerous potential mechanisms are implicated in the oral disease/carcinogenesis paradigm, including infection- and inflammation-associated cell pathology and microbial carcinogen metabolism. Poor oral hygiene is associated with oral cancer, but there is also evidence of a possible link between oral or dental infections and malignancies in general. Conclusion: Oral infections may trigger malignant transformation in tissues of the mouth and other organs. However, scientific evidence to date remains weak and further well-conducted studies are warranted before cancer can be properly added to the list of oral infection-related systemic diseases.
© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

PMID:: 21819493; [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Nicotine dependence phenotype, time to first cigarette, and risk of head and neck cancer.

2011-08-30T20:23:00.002+05:30

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

A behavioral phenotype that characterizes nicotine dependence, the time to first cigarette after waking, is hypothesized to increase the risk of head and neck cancer.

METHODS:

A case-control study of histologically confirmed head and neck cancer was conducted that included 1055 cases and 795 controls with a history of cigarette smoking.

RESULTS:

The pack-years-adjusted odds ratio was 1.42 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.02-1.99) for an interval of 31 minutes to 60 minutes to first cigarette after waking and 1.59 (95% CI, 1.19-2.11) for an interval of 1 minute to 30 minutes. The risk estimates were similar when smoking was modeled as total years, smoking status (current vs former), number of cigarettes smoked per day, years since quitting, and excess odds ratio. Findings were consistent for cancers of the floor of the mouth, palate, and pharynx.

CONCLUSIONS:

Time to first cigarette is an indicator of increased nicotine dependence, smoke uptake, and risk of head and neck cancer. This high-risk group of individuals would benefit from targeted smoking interventions. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Copyright © 2011 American Cancer Society.

PMID:: 21826643; [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Campaign awareness and oral cancer knowledge in UK resident adult Bangladeshi: a cross-sectional study.

2011-08-30T20:22:00.000+05:30

Abstract

Background:This study reports awareness of the 'Open up to Mouth Cancer' campaign materials and oral cancer knowledge among two UK adult Bangladeshi communities, both at high risk for oral cancer.Methods:Differences in the outcomes of campaign awareness and knowledge of oral cancer risk factors and early signs were compared between campaign and comparison areas. Home-based interviews were conducted with representative samples from both areas by bilingual interviewers. Data collected included a modified 36-item Humphris Oral Cancer Knowledge Scale and socio-demographic information. The data were collected 4 weeks after the campaign completion and analysed using χ(2)-tests and binary logistic regressions.Results:The response rate was 77%. Both awareness of the campaign materials (29.99% (95% confidence interval (CI) 15.82, 46.99) vs 8.12% (95% CI 6.16, 10.62)) and the mean Humphris Oral Cancer Knowledge Scale scores (13.32 (95% CI 11.06, 15.57) vs 8.27 (95% CI 6.59, 9.94)) were higher in the campaign area. The campaign area sample was significantly more likely to be aware of the materials (odds ratio (OR)=6.03, 95% CI 3.00, 12.1).Conclusion:Superior awareness and oral cancer knowledge was identified in the community with access to the campaign materials. Further evaluation to identify long-term campaign impact is required.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 23 August 2011; doi:10.1038/bjc.2011.317 www.bjcancer.com.

Tobacco-induced cancer on the rise

2011-08-22T13:21:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 30 percent of the cancer patients admitted to the Regional Cancer Centre in the last five years, were afflicted with the disease because of the indiscriminate use of pan masala. This was revealed by the RCC, in answers to the queries raised by PK Raju, a member of the Hospital Development Society of the SAT Hospital through Right to Information Act.
Read more at
http://expressbuzz.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/tobacco-induced-cancer-on-the-rise/306467.html

Tobacco causing 50 per cent neck cancer: Study

2011-08-22T13:16:00.002+05:30

Tobacco causing 50 per cent neck cancer: Study

Posters for Anti Tobacco drives

2011-06-10T14:08:00.001+05:30

Toll free number for violation of tobacco use and advertisements

2011-06-10T13:53:00.000+05:30

Very Important message
The Government of India has launched a helpline to report violations of tobacco use under the law. It is 1800110456 and is Toll free national.

Kicking the habit

2011-06-10T13:34:00.000+05:30

Twenty-five years ago, Theresa Knox gave up smoking for good. A smoker for 12 years, she quit cold turkey, as she said nicotine replacement medication like patches or lozenges were not common at the time. Now, Knox works as the tobacco prevention coordinator for Grand Forks Public Health Department, helping patients who smoke or chew learn about their addiction.
Cold turkey was her only option.
Read more

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/206203/group/homepage/

Tobacco warning labels to appear on interior and exterior of package

2011-02-19T11:07:00.000+05:30

Health Canada released Friday a new set of bigger and more graphic health warnings for cigarette packages that will require tobacco companies to overhaul both the inside and outside of packs. Twelve new images to cover 75 per cent of the outside panel of cigarette packages were unveiled alongside eight... FULL ARTICLE AT Leader Post Online

Deadline for ban on gutkha in plastic sachet stays

2011-02-19T11:03:00.001+05:30

New Delhi, Feb 17 : In a setback to chewing tobacco manufacturers, the Supreme Court Thursday declined to extend the March 1 deadline banning the marketing of tobacco products in plastic sachets.

An apex court bench of Justices G.S Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly, however, said the central government's rules prohibiting the plastic packaging, which was to come into force with immediate effect, will now be kept on hold till March 1.

The government had notified the said rules Feb 4 this year. However, the court by its Dec 7, 2010 order had said the ban of plastic sachets will come into force from March 1, 2011.

The apex court also issued notice to the government and other parties, including NGOs seeking a ban on a petition by the chewing tobacco manufactures challenging the rules prohibiting the use of plastic sachets for packaging chewing tobacco, or gutkha.

The matter will come up for hearing April 13.

A study carried by National Institute of Public Health on the directions of the court revealed that 86 percent of the world's oral cancer occur in India and 90 percent of those cancers are passed due to chewing tobacco.

In another shocking revelation, it said 24 percent of school going children were already addicted to chewing tobacco.

--IANS

Supreme Court has banned the sale of tobacco products in plastic pouches

2011-02-17T13:45:00.001+05:30

India’s Supreme Court has banned the sale of tobacco products in plastic pouches – despite angry protests from manufacturers. The move affects the packaging of several types of chewing tobacco and comes amid growing concerns about the impact of cigarettes smoking on public health.
Different types of chewing tobacco – including gutkha and paan – are extremely popular in India.

India’s Top Court Bans Sale of Tobacco Products in India

2010-12-07T18:35:00.001+05:30

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- India’s Supreme Court banned the sale
of tobacco products in plastic wrappers from March 1, citing
harm to public health and environmental damage from improper
disposal of the packets.
The two-judge bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi also
directed the government to submit a report in eight weeks after
studying the harmful effects of gutka, a mixture of betel nuts,
tobacco and proprietary additives. The decision also applies to
pan masala, a non-tobacco product that has the same appearance,
taste and packaging.
The court’s order may help discourage the use of gutka by
making it more expensive as manufacturers will be forced to seek
alternative ways of packaging, said Kaustav Ray, analyst at the
Hyderabad, India-based unit of Datamonitor Plc. The gukta is
mostly sold in the country in plastic packets and costs as
little as one rupee (2 cents) a sachet.
Sales of chewing tobacco, valued at 210.3 billion rupees
($4.7 billion) in 2004, may double in India by 2014, according
to Datamonitor.
Scientific studies have found that both gutka and pan
masala contain tumor-causing agents, said Pankaj Chaturvedi, a
surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital, Asia’s largest cancer
treatment center. The products contribute to making India the
“mouth cancer capital” of the world, he said.
“There is already so much evidence showing that a number
of cancers are caused by these products,” Chaturvedi said in an
interview today. “For the environment, the plastic is bad. But
for the individual, the immediate danger comes from the
tobacco.”
The Supreme Court’s interim order came after petitioners
challenged a 2007 decision by the Rajasthan High Court which
banned the use of plastics for making gutka packets. The next
date for the hearing is March 9.

SC bans sale of gutkha in plastic pouches from March

2010-12-07T18:34:00.001+05:30

Dec. 7 (PTI) -- The Supreme Court today ordered a ban on
the sale of tobacco products like gutkha and pan masala in
plastic pouches from March 2011, while asking the government to
conduct a survey on the ill effects of these products within
eight weeks.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly also asked
the manufacturers to explore and decide by March next year on
the alternative material for packaging them.
The bench issued the directions while brushing aside the
pleas of some of the gutkha manufacturers who feared that such a
direction could lead to closure of thousands of gutkha and pan
masala manufacturing units.
"Let it come," the bench quipped when counsel for one of
the manufacturers claimed that the whole industry would come to
a standstill.
Cigarettes, which are generally sold in paper packs, are
out of the ambit of this ban.
While asking the government to conduct a survey on the ill
effects of these tobacco products, the bench also asked it to
examine the effects of packaging these products in plastics
pouches over human health.
The bench recorded an undertaking from Solicitor General
Gopal Subramanium that the government would get the required
survey done by the National Institute of Public Health on the
harmful effects of gutkha, pan masala and other tobacco products
and also the adverse effects, if any, of the plastic pouches
used for packaging the material.
The bench also directed the Centre to finalise and enforce
withing eight weeks the Plastic Management and Disposal Rules
2009.
It rued that despite the rules having been framed in 2009,
the authorities are yet to enforce them.
The bench passed the direction while adjudicating a
petition by a civil society, which has approached the apex court
challenging the alleged unbridled sale of gutkha and pan masala
material in the country, seriously impinging upon public health.

Oral Cancer

Gory pics on tobacco packs from Dec 1

275m hooked to killer tobacco, survey reveals

Survey finds tobacco sold with 100m of schools in 5 states

Engineer develops new way to fight wife's cancer

Anti-smoking backers score in ‘tobacco war’

Clearing the air an arduous task

How smoking affects your health, skin and fitness

48% cancers due to tobacco chewing

How smoking affects your health, skin and fitness

Tobacco firms kept radioactive link secret

Smokers Quit With Cheap Remedy Used in Bulgaria for 40 Years

An alternative approach to study the changes in the cancer pattern of men in India (1988-2005).

Abstract

Are oral and dental diseases linked to cancer?

Abstract

Nicotine dependence phenotype, time to first cigarette, and risk of head and neck cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

METHODS:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS:

Campaign awareness and oral cancer knowledge in UK resident adult Bangladeshi: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Tobacco-induced cancer on the rise

Tobacco causing 50 per cent neck cancer: Study

Posters for Anti Tobacco drives

Toll free number for violation of tobacco use and advertisements

Very Important message The Government of India has launched a helpline to report violations of tobacco use under the law. It is 1800110456 and is Toll free national.

Kicking the habit

Tobacco warning labels to appear on interior and exterior of package

Deadline for ban on gutkha in plastic sachet stays

Supreme Court has banned the sale of tobacco products in plastic pouches

India’s Top Court Bans Sale of Tobacco Products in India

SC bans sale of gutkha in plastic pouches from March

Very Important message
The Government of India has launched a helpline to report violations of tobacco use under the law. It is 1800110456 and is Toll free national.