Tobacco use can cause cancer almost anywhere in your body!
Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners observe World No Tobacco Day. This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco. Keeping this as a baseline, Harshamitra Cancer Centre, Trichy along with its trust Rosegarden is involved in spreading awareness on tobacco usage to the public consistently for the past 12 years.
This year, as the theme suggests, “Protect the environment”, our activity was flagged off by Hon’ble. M. Anbalagan, Mayor, Trichy City Corporation, Chief Guest Thiru. M. Palaniyandi, Member Legislative Assembly, Srirangam Constituency, in the presence of Tmt. K. Kamalam, Thiru. G. Vellaisamy, President, Nagamangalam Panchayat, Thiru. NKS. Arpudharaj, Ex. President Nagamangalam, Thiru. Thangavel, Thiru. M. Ganesan, Thiru. K. S. Sundaram, Thiru. MD. Irudhayaraj, Thiru. S. Thiyagu, Thiru. C. Periyasamy, Thiru. OM. Bala, Prof. Dr. R. Senthamarai and Thiru. Er. Rajasekaran at Harshamitra Hospital, Nagamangalam, Trichy. Our team of vibrant social workers, moved throughout the city in a canter van spreading awareness on tobacco intake and its impact on environment. We have directly reached out to the people in a very practical way, depicting the ill effects of tobacco through a very entertaining medium of dance and skit on the hustle and bustle roads of Trichy. We motivated more than 250 smokers to quit smoking and to protect their health and nature by giving them tree saplings, who had obliged to quit smoking too.
Tobacco kills over 8 million people every year and destroys our environment, further harming human health, through the cultivation, production, distribution, consumption, and post-consumer waste, says Dr G Govindaraj, Surgical Oncologist, Managing Director, Harshamitra Cancer Centre. Also, Tobacco smoke contributes to higher air pollution levels leading to various respiratory ailments, cancer, cardio vascular issues etc. Tobacco smoke is made up of more than 7000 thousands chemicals, including at least 70 chemicals known to cause cancer.
Tobacco use is linked to at least 20 cancer types and the leading preventable cause of cancer by a wide margin. Chewable and non-chewable forms of tobacco intake can cause all types of cancer – in lungs, kidney, gall bladder, esophagus, blood cancer, lungs, pancreas, stomach etc. No matter how long you have used tobacco, quitting can reduce your risk for cancer and other chronic diseases, says Dr Sasipriya Govindaraj, Radiation Oncologist, Managing Director, Harshamitra Cancer Centre, Trichy.
The most important things you can do to avoid health risks from cancer are—
If you don’t use tobacco—don’t start!
If you do use tobacco—quit!
Quit tobacco for your health and the health of our planet.
So let’s use World No Tobacco Day, May 31st as a launching pad to a brighter and less smokey future!
