'Tobacco-related cancer in women on the rise'

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey–India (GATS) conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows that 35 per cent of the people consume tobacco in some form or the other. Women form twenty percent of this population.

Female cancer survivors spoke at length about the stigma and the difficulties they faced in battling the illness at an event organised by HCG in the City on Friday.

Throat cancer survivor Nalini Satyanarayan said, “Being a non-smoker, I have gone through the ordeal and came out victorious. I did not lose hope at any moment. I currently teach acupressure and Reiki and help many a cancer patient to develop a positive attitude. My vision is to have a tobacco-free Karnataka.” Sathyanarayan was a victim of passive smoking. The programme was organised ahead of International Women’s Day.

Dr Vishal Rao, Consultant, Head and Neck Surgery, HCG Cancer Care, said, “I have seen a drastic increase in tobacco-related cancers in women. This can only be correlated to urban women being increasingly addicted to smoking. It increases incidences of infertility. ”
Dr Rao said that according to the recently released study on economic burden of tobacco, women in Karnataka spend nearly Rs 218 crore annually on tobacco-related diseases compared to Rs 6768 crore spent on women across India, said

Dr Rao. The HCG also launched a booklet called the ‘ABC of Tobacco’. This booklet is intended to educate children on the ill-effects of smoking.