Cancer Support Group

Times of India
01 June 2010
Mumbai, India

Indian women’s affair with the nicotine stick is directly linked to the growing incidence of lung cancer among them.A report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which has compiled data from various cancer registries across the country, shows that Bangalore had 1.2 new cases of lung cancer among women per one lakh population in 1982. In 2005, this number stood at 2.6. Chennai saw a jump from 1.1 in 1982 to 3.6 in 2005, while Delhi’s incidence rose from 2.6 in 1988 to 3.6 cases in 2005. Incidentally, Mumbai emerged as an exception, with the incidence falling from 3.2 in 1982 to 2.7 in 2005.

“An increase in lung cancer indicates that smoking of manufactured cigarettes is on the rise as against bidis (bidi smoking, unlike cigarette smoking, is restricted to the oral cavity),” said Dr Surendra Shastri of Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel.