‘Even young people are dying from heart attack & stroke due to tobacco use’

RMLCF organises Tobacco-Free Campaign 2023 at G Rio School

Morung Express News
Kohima | October 27

‘How often do we hear Nagas experiencing deaths from heart attacks, strokes, or young people unexpectedly passing away in their sleep, and why is this phenomenon occurring?

These are some of the thoughts Dr Keduovinuo Keditsu, MS MRCS MCh, Consultant Cancer Surgeon, Putuonuo Hospital Kohima left the students with on Thursday during a Tobacco-Free Campaign 2023 at G Rio School, Kohima while underlining that nowadays, even the youth are “experiencing fatal heart attacks and strokes because of tobacco consumption.” 

When it comes to Nagaland and India, “smokeless tobacco or the chewing or eating form of tobacco- is much more harmful and much more prevalent than smoking,” Dr Keditsu said, in the campaign organised by the RMLCF (Rev Moa Longchari Cancer Foundation).

And despite the prohibition of sale of tobacco within 100 meters radius of educational institutions, she maintained that as tobacco is ‘available everywhere, you may think it’s normal, or not harmful.’

“The problem is that it is available in any shop with no restriction for children/teenagers, whether it is outside your house or near your school and is not expensive,” she added. 

The rampant use of tobacco in the state is also evident from the National Fact Sheet Global Youth Tobacco Survey India 2019, highlighting the use of tobacco among students in the 13-15 years age group across India.

According to the survey, at 42.6%, Nagaland had the 3rd highest tobacco consumption state among school-going children, next to Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, both of which registered 57.9%, followed by Meghalaya (33.6%) and Sikkim (24.8%).

Over 7000 harmful chemicals
Dr Keditsu also underlined that tobacco contains over 7000 harmful chemicals, posing risks to the human body while its addictive component nicotine fosters dependence and increases craving for the product.

“Nicotine is a pharmacologically active drug that naturally occurs in the tobacco plant, is highly addictive and delivered rapidly to the brain following inhalation or ingestion of tobacco products that contain nicotine,” she elaborated. 

“Nicotine is so addictive that the autonomy of a quarter of teens starts to diminish after smoking just three or four cigarettes and after smoking five packs, nearly 60% are dependent,” she added. 

“Among the 7000 chemicals,” the Consultant Cancer Surgeon further stated, “250 are exceptionally hazardous, almost as dangerous as the arsenic and other dangerous chemicals” leading to various forms of cancer and a gradual demise for the user.

“Tobacco kills more than 22000 people worldwide every day which means that one person is dying every 4 seconds,” she said, adding that in India“3700 people die every day because of tobacco”

She further asserted that tobacco damages every single body part, leading to cancer in the head or neck, lung, leukemia, stomach, kidney, pancreas, colon, bladder, cervix; chronic diseases such as stroke, blindness, gum infection, aortic rupture, heart disease, pneumonia etc.

Pan masala ‘equally perilous’
Meanwhile, Dr Keditsu cautioned that while ‘Rajnigandha’ is a favorite among the Nagas, “Pan Masala is equally perilous when compared to tobacco.”

To this end, she expressed the challenges faced by those working on anti-tobacco campaigns, noting that “we are in a constant struggle with powerful tobacco giants, companies, and markets that are immensely wealthy, operating as million-dollar enterprises.”

They possess such vast resources that even regulatory authorities struggle to shut them down, she said.

“They don’t want you to know that pan masala is injurious to health,” she maintained, while posing, “Has anybody ever read the information provided in the packet before chewing?”

The product information claims it contains “0% nicotine, 0% tobacco,” while the warning, “chewing tobacco is injurious to health,” is written in very small letters “misleading” users into believing it’s not harmful, she added.  

Impressing upon that tobacco becomes a burden to the society, she also conveyed that it not only incapacitates users but their endurance of extremely painful conditions is felt by others.

“Not only patients, but the whole family suffers,” she stressed. 

Reiterating how the use of tobacco is jeopardising lives of many people, Dr Keditsu told the students representing 30 different schools in Kohima that it is very important young people to understand that as they grow up, and become husbands, wives, parents, they must  realise that their behaviour would affect the future generation.

“Even the future generations are all dependent on you. It’s not only about you”, she added.

Earlier, Khrienuo Moa, President of RMLCF, provided a brief background on the foundation established in memory of her late husband, Rev Moa Longchari. 

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and during his own battle with cancer, he and his family encountered many individuals facing similar physical, emotional, and financial challenges, leading some to forgo treatment due to financial constraints.

Accordingly, she shared that it was Rev Moa’s wish was to establish a cancer foundation primarily focused on providing support through prayers and counseling, emphasising that it’s not just the illness, but the mental trauma that patients go through, which led to its formation.

His dreams and vision still live, Khrienuo highlighted: “In a small way, we have been working with cancer patients and 4 hospitals including Eden and Referral in Dimapur and in Kohima, we are working along with Naga Hospital and Putuonuo Hospital.”

During their journey, she also pointed out that, “we have come across a lot of young people of your age, elder than you and even the elders who are affected with cancer because of tobacco.”

She regretted that their habits cause others to endure such difficulties and mentioned that the RMLCF Tobacco-Free Campaign was initiated among schoolchildren to drive societal change.