The first-ever report on the global use and public health impact of smokeless tobacco has found that more than 300 million people in at least 70 countries use the carcinogenic product. Eighty per cent of smokeless tobacco users in the world are in India and Bangladesh. The report ‘Smokeless Tobacco and Public Health: A Global Perspective’ was released on Monday by the USA’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute at Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel. The report revealed that majority of smokeless tobacco users (89%) are in Southeast Asia, which also has the highest oral cancer rates in the world. Cancer prevalence among men using smokeless tobacco is high across the region, varying between 25% and 51% in five countries. The prevalence is also high — equivalent to that of cigarette usage — among youth aged 13 to 15 years. The study has given no figure on cigarette usage. “The incidence rate of cancer due to smokeless tobacco, as the statistics shows, is higher in India when compared to other countries. This is also an indication that the products being sold in the region are far more dangerous than the countries where the incidence rate is lower,” said Dr Mark Parascandola of National Cancer Institute, USA. “Moreover, the risk of oral cancer is five times higher among smokeless tobacco users than smokers,” added Dr Parascandola.

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