No smoke without fire?

It’s not news, but it does take immense will to kick the tobacco habit.

From May 2012 to February this year, 117 of the city’s tobacco users called a toll-free helpline for counselling. Data reveals 10 of them were successful in quitting. The 8.5 per cent success rate should serve as a warning, say experts.

Nicotine is believed to be one of the most addictive substances known, and on average, it takes a user four failed attempts at quitting before he finally succeeds.

The helpline (1800227787) is run by Nicorette India, which manufactures nicotine-based chewing gum to help tobacco users stave off withdrawal pangs. It is run from a call centre in Mumbai, and trained counsellors are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. .

With the age for tobacco use rapidly and alarmingly decreasing, a 2010 study found 3.7 per cent of children between the ages of 11 and 13 used tobacco. Experts stress the need to target people before they become addicted.

“Tobacco use is a disease, and just like any other disease, prevention is better than cure,” said E. Vidhubala, associate professor and head, department of psycho-oncology, Cancer Institute.

More than 28 crore people in India use tobacco, and it is very difficult for tobacco cessation clinics to cater to this huge number. The World Health Organisation has now recommended integrating tobacco cessation services with all healthcare systems to better serve the population.

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Though much has been spoken about the benefits of giving up smoking, there has been little focus on throwing light on safe nicotine replacement therapy.

While oncologists recognise nicotine gums, lozenges and patches as the commonly used therapies, they distance themselves from electronic cigarettes for want of scientific backing.

Unfortunately, the need to give up smoking has created a market for e-cigarettes. And in the absence of regulation and licensing, these products have reached the wrong hands of non-smokers, too, say doctors.

“There is lots of conflicting evidence on e-cigarettes. Unless we have definitive evidence we will not endorse the use of e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation,” says Arvind Krishnamurthy, additional professor of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Adyar.

The World Health Organisation has stressed the need for evidentiary basis for the marketers’ claim that these cigarettes help people quit smoking. It has indicated the absence of scientific evidence that confirm the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes. But marketers continue to propagate the products. As Dr. Vidhu Bala of Cancer Institute notes, the use of e-cigarettes was rampant due to rigorous campaigns by certain manufacturers.

A marketer of e-cigarettes claimed several persons had purchased the product. One ml of electronic liquid in the e-cigarette, which consists of propylene glycol, gives about 170 puffs equalling to 15 normal cigarettes, he claims. But doctors warn that this liquid is an artificial man-made chemical nicotine extract.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/no-smoke-without-fire/article5714415.ece?homepage=true