Indians worst at quitting smoking

According to reports released by the US government based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Indians are found to be not as effective as their global counterparts when it comes to quitting smoking.

The reports are based on analysis conducted on the percentage of former daily smokers over daily smokers in 22 countries between 2008 and 2013. After the analysis, it was found that Indians have the worst quit percentage in the world with 12 per cent in men, and 16 per cent in women.

According to statistics, India has nearly 11 crore smokers. It is found that almost half (42 per cent) of cancer to Indian men are related to tobacco consumption. This means that it is the single largest cause of cancer in Indian men.

India sees a million new cancer patients every year. Out of these patients, approximately 63,000 patients suffer from lung cancer which is most commonly caused by smoking. Lung cancer treatment is also very high and it has huge risks of relapse. Furthermore, the patients have to suffer endlessly for years and have a high mortality rate.

Many people point that India’s lack of proper action towards smoking could be the cause for this. The country needs a strong initiative to help more people quit.

Photo by Andres Siimon on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)

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