World Cancer Day, a day to renew vow to implement preventable strategies in India

February 4, 2017

New Delhi, Feb 4: World Cancer Day is being observed today (February 4) to raise cancer awareness and to encourage its prevention, detection and management.

CancerCancer accounts for more deaths worldwide than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF),"Cancer is among one of the three greatest risks to the global economy".

In India, cancer is one of the 10 leading causes of deaths in India and is an increasing public health challenge. With a prevalence of three million and annual incidence of one million, the statistics are alarming. It kills around five lakh people annually. In 2011, the UN resolution declared 4 key strategies to curb rising burden of cancers - tobacco control, controlling unsafe use of alcohol, obesity control and better nutrition.

Dr Vedant Kabra, Director of Surgical Oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram and a Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) patron, says, "To have a clean and safe campus is every child's right. We must work on preventable strategies along with the treatments. It is a misery to see youngsters impacted by tobacco use and families getting destroyed mentally, financially and socially due to cancers."

Dr.Kabra further elaborates that "Hazards of tobacco are unlimited. There's no body part which is not affected by it. Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. There are 3095 chemical components in tobacco, among them 28 are proven carcinogen. The major and most abundant group of carcinogens is the tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA) and N-nitrosoamino acids."

"The nitrosamine level is directly related to the risk of cancer. Scientific evidence has established that tobacco chewing causes cancer of mouth, oesophagus (food pipe), larynx and pharynx (throat), pancreas, stomach, kidney and lung. It can also cause high blood pressure and other life threatening cardiovascular conditions like myocardial ischemia (heart attack), brain stroke etc. The use of smokeless tobacco during pregnancy can cause still birth, low birth weight, premature delivery, anaemia of mother and several complications during delivery," he adds.

As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released by the MoHFW (2010), around 43 lakhs people above the age of 15 in Haryana (i.e. one in every four individual) are consuming tobacco in some or the other form. One-third of them will be diseased by the serious illnesses such as cancer, heart diseases, lung cancers among others and will die premature deaths.

Dr.Pankaj Chaturvedi, Professor Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, said, "It is a mammoth task to improve the nutritional status of a nation of one billion people. However, importantly control on tobacco / areca nut / alcohol / junk food is well within the reach of our policy makers."

While the cancer causing effects of tobacco are well known, most are still unaware of harmful effects of Alcohol, areca nut and obesity. The only way to discourage their usage is to strictly implement the Cigarette and Tobacco Product (COTPA) Act that aims to prohibit smoking in public places, prohibit sale to minors, stop direct and indirect advertising.

In India, every year in India, around one million new cancer cases are diagnosed and around 600,000 to 700,000 people die from cancer. In a report of April 2014, around two-fifths (40 percent) of all cancers in India are attributable to tobacco use and the economic costs of illness and premature death due to tobacco consumption exceed combined government and state expenditure and state expenditure on medical and public health, water supply and sanitation[i].

In India, 5500 children initiate tobacco use every day. Indeed, a very alarming statistic. A very effective strategy to prevent the 90 percent of oral cancers and 40 percent of all cancers is controlling the initiation of tobacco from childhood. Implementation of Section 4 & 6 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (2003) would leave children with no access to tobacco products and have a clean and safe campus. If we make youngsters aware right from the childhood about the hazards of tobacco, the initiation rates would be very less thereby preventing these cancers.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 3: A new study has found out that diet significantly affects the mental health and well being of an individual.

The study was published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

"We have found that there is increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, many common beliefs about the health effects of certain foods are not supported by solid evidence," said the lead researcher, Professor Suzanne Dickson.

According to the researchers, the link between diet and mental health can be firmly established in certain cases like that of the ability of a ketogenic diet being helpful for children with epilepsy and the impact of vitamin B12 deficiency on poor memory, depression and fatigue.

"With individual conditions, we often found very mixed evidence. With ADHD for example, we can see an increase in the quantity of refined sugar in the diet seems to increase ADHD and hyperactivity, whereas eating more fresh fruit and vegetables seems to protect against these conditions," said Dickson

But there are comparatively few studies, and many of them don't last long enough to show long-term effects," added Dickson.

The study further concludes that some food items can be associated with treatment and the betterment of certain mental health conditions.

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May 17,2020

Geneva, May 17: Spraying disinfectant on the streets, as practised in some countries, does not eliminate the new coronavirus and even poses a health risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Saturday.

In a document on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces as part of the response to the virus, the WHO says spraying can be ineffective. "Spraying or fumigation of outdoor spaces, such as streets or marketplaces, is... not recommended to kill the Covid-19 virus or other pathogens because disinfectant is inactivated by dirt and debris," explains the WHO.

"Even in the absence of organic matter, chemical spraying is unlikely to adequately cover all surfaces for the duration of the required contact time needed to inactivate pathogens." The WHO said that streets and pavements are not considered as "reservoirs of infection" of Covid-19, adding that spraying disinfectants, even outside, can be "dangerous for human health".

The document also stresses that spraying individuals with disinfectants is "not recommended under any circumstances".

"This could be physically and psychologically harmful and would not reduce an infected person's ability to spread the virus through droplets or contact," said the document.

Spraying chlorine or other toxic chemicals on people can cause eye and skin irritation, bronchospasm and gastrointestinal effects, it adds.

The organisation is also warning against the systematic spraying and fumigating of disinfectants on to surfaces in indoor spaces, citing a study that has shown it to be ineffective outside direct spraying areas.

"If disinfectants are to be applied, this should be done with a cloth or wipe that has been soaked in disinfectant," it says.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of the pandemic that has killed more than 300,000 people worldwide since its appearance in late December in China, can attach itself to surfaces and objects.

However, no precise information is currently available for the period during which the viruses remain infectious on the various surfaces.

Studies have shown that the virus can stay on several types of surfaces for several days. However, these maximum durations are only theoretical because they are recorded under laboratory conditions and should be "interpreted with caution" in the real-world environment.

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