Speaking at a training conducted by Tobacco Quitters of Mizoram (TQM) at Aijal Club today, Dr Jane Ralte, state nodal office for Mizoram state tobacco control society, revealed that while 96.5 percent inhaled second-smoke at homes 64.6 percent are exposed to second-hand smoke at workplaces. Dr Ralte expressed grave concern over what she described as “tolerance to second-hand smoke.” “Despite the fact people are aware of the harmful effects of cigarettes smoke, 98 percent of people in Mizoram allow lighting of cigarettes in their homes,” she said.
Dr Ralte also revealed that male smokers in Mizoram have found it easy to kick the bad habit than their female counterparts.
“Mizoram has high women literacy rate, one of the highest in India. It is high time that the womenfolk be aware of the health hazards caused by tobacco and quit it once and for all,” she said.
As many as 72.5 per cent of the male population and 61.6 per cent of women in Mizoram are still consuming tobacco in different forms, making the state the heaviest tobacco-consuming state in India. Prominent anti-tobacco campaigner Lal Riliani, wife of chief minister Lal Thanhawla, also spoke at the training programme.
“Health experts describe tobacco as a type of drug. Mizoram has accumulating medical bills in various hospitals across the country due to illness caused by tobacco. Tobacco is one of major causes of our economic setback,” the ISTH Mizoram chapter president said.
According to WHO, just 30 minutes of exposure to tobacco smoke changes the way in which blood flows and clots, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke scientific evidence has unequivocally established that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability. Six lakhs out of 60 lakh deaths every year due to tobacco are due to second-hand smoke.