On No Tobacco Day,dental association launches attack

He added,“Along with medication and nicotine patches,uniform tests will be conducted to check nicotine level in blood. These clinics will help quit both chewing tobacco as well as cigarette smoking habits. We have already started this in government dental clinics and will soon aim at private clinics as well.”

Depending on the success of these centres,IDA will further open centres across India. “The idea is to give uniform treatment throughout the country right from taking patient history,investigation and follow up,” said Dr Dhoble.

On World No Tobacco Day,in Mumbai alone,20 one-day booths were set up at railway stations,hospitals,malls and airports. Doctors screened patients at these centers all day and distributed information booklets to create awareness about ill effects of tobacco consumption.

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death. More than five million people die globally from the effects of tobacco every year — more than from HIV/AIDS,malaria and tuberculosis combined. Of these,nearly 1 million deaths occur in India. Every eight seconds someone,somewhere in the world,dies as a result of tobacco use. IDA has also launched a website to help quit tobacco both smoking and chewing — http://www.tii.org.in.