Aligarh: On the occasion of World Anti-Tobacco Day, the Department of Radiotherapy, JN Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University organized a public awareness camp at Jamalpur locality.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Shahid Ali Siddiqui, Chairman, Department of Radiotherapy said that India ranked third in the production of tobacco in the world. With 34.6 per cent of adults as tobacco users, it had become world?s second largest tobacco consuming nation. He added that nearly 0.9 million tobacco-related deaths occurred in India annually as compared to 5.5 million worldwide. He said Tobacco consumption was responsible for Cancers, Ischaemic heart Disease, Stroke, Chronic lung disease etc.
The camp was organized at a road side location in the densely populated Jamalpur area in order to attract the crowd. People were motivated to take pledge to quit tobacco and other products. Those taking the pledge were given gifts by the organizers. Nearly 200 people took written pledge for quitting tobacco consumption in any form. Many youths in their early twenties came to the camp and participated in the interaction to clear their doubts about the ill-effects of tobacco consumption. Women of the area also took interest and took pledge that they will fight to remove the social evil from their families and the society.
The camp was attended by a team of cancer specialists from JNMCH including Dr. Mohd. Akram, Dr. Shadab Alam, Dr. Kashif Razi, Dr. Masroor Karimi, Dr. Ghufraan Naheed and Dr. Asif Hussain.
