More than 77% of Mizoram residents get tobacco: Survey | Popgen Tech

More than 77 percent of the people living in Mizoram are found to be using tobacco, the main reason behind the high rate of cancer cases in the North Eastern state.

And most of them take to the dangerous practice in their 20s.

This was revealed in the Cancer Risk Factor Surveillance and Health System Response Survey in the Northeast Region conducted by the Bangalore-based National Center for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR) under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The survey was conducted between 2019 and 2020 and the report was published recently.

“The use of smokeless tobacco is higher at 54.1 percent, and the use of smoked tobacco at 43.6 percent. The average age of initiation of tobacco use is 20.2 years. And the average duration of tobacco use among past smokers is 20.9 years. as 86.8 percent respondents reported exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke in the past 30 days. More than half (58.1 percent) are current users of non-tobacco betel products in the form of pan masala, betel nut or areca nut,” said a. statement issued by the Mizoram government, citing the report.

The high prevalence of cancer rates has earned Mizoram the tag of the “cancer capital” of the country. Tobacco consumption and poor health care habits have been identified as the main reasons for high cancer cases in the state with a population of nearly 12 lakh.

According to a National Cancer Registry Program report, 2012-2016, released in 2020, Mizoram recorded 207 and 172.3 cancer cases at all sites per lakh population among men and women, respectively.

The ICMR-NCDIR survey found that the average number of days of fruit consumption is 2.2 per week. “More than 80 percent consume preserved/salted and fermented food items,” he said. These eating habits also make the residents of Mizoram vulnerable to cancer and other lifestyle diseases.