World No Tobacco Day, 2024

 Consider vaping as a smoking cessation method on World No Tobacco Day, 2024.

Everyone agrees that smoking plays a significant role in the rising number of cancer cases. However, the general perception of smoke and nicotine has been one of social acceptance. Over the years, a number of things have contributed to this, including extensive marketing initiatives aimed at making smoking appear fashionable. These ads date back to the era of the "Marlboro Man" and include the current fad of vaping or e-cigarettes.

Despite several decades of awareness efforts and printed warnings on packaging, a WHO global research conducted in 2022 found that at least 36 million adolescents and young adults, aged 12 to 15, were tobacco users. This was hardly a third-world issue; in the European Region alone, 4 million young people, or roughly 11.4% of boys and 10.2% of girls in the same age group, used tobacco.

The growing ubiquity of nicotine pouches and electronic cigarettes among youth is a significant factor in this reality. Just 2% of adults and an estimated 12.3% of teenagers in the same European Region used e-cigarettes. In certain other nations within the region, school-age children's e-cigarette use is approximately three times higher than their cigarette smoking rates. 

Tobacco use in general poses a serious threat to public health as it is associated with eight major diseases, including mouth, lung, stomach, pancreas, kidney and bladder One of the most common cancers in India is head and neck cancer.

This means that about one-third of cancer cases worldwide are caused by such malignancies. Lung cancer is the most common cancer in India, and tobacco use is associated with a significant increase in the country’s total cancer burden.

Lung cancer, especially among smokers, is more common than malignancies of the head and neck where the former is rare. This illustrates the pervasiveness of the risk of tobacco smoking as smokeless or smoking tobacco increases cancer risk.

Furthermore, the prevalence of smoking-related diseases has shown worrying changes, with an increase in female lung cancer deaths due to pollution and cigarette exposure This highlights the prevalence and nature of tobacco use need to provide adequate facilities in all aspects emphasize personality.

It is not only moral to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco; Doing so is an investment in the health of future generations. Through collaboration between communities, governments and health care systems, a society free of tobacco use barriers can be established, allowing every child to thrive.

Vaping and e-cigarettes

Ullas Batra, Executive Director, Department of Medical Oncology and Chief Oncologist, Medical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center (RGCIRC). Ullas Batra says vaping and e-cigarettes are equally dangerous, comparing them to carcinogens and launching e-cigarettes promising to help people beat tobacco-related diseases first. But their plethora of flavors and sleek electronics quickly caught the attention of a younger generation who loved the product.

Ironically, the ability of e-cigarettes to help people quit smoking leads many people to start smoking regularly again. The high price of e-cigarettes is forcing smokers—especially those who were already nicotine dependent—to return to their previous smoking habits as their financial situation becomes too tight.

For many, e-cigarettes had been a gateway to nicotine dependancy.The charm of vaping, with its innocent cloud cover, has made smoking all over again regular, especially among younger humans seeking out attractiveness and a experience of network.

Again, this issue has been exacerbated via the shortage of law of e-cigarettes. With no strict rules governing the manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes, they had been blind to what they contained.