About 13.5 crore people smoke in India and every year lakhs of people die due to tobacco related diseases. Despite this, the success rate of quitting smoking without any medical help is less than 4%. In such The Lancet Regional HealthWestern Pacific A new research published in gives important indications for India. The study states that New Zealand achieved a record decline in smoking rates by adopting traditional tobacco control ideas as well as regulated nicotine options.
According to research, in the middle of the 20th century, the number of daily smokers in New Zealand was about 40% among men and about one-third among women. Over several years, measures such as increased taxes, graphic warnings, and plain packaging reduced smoking rates to 15% in 2015–16. After this, in 201819, regulated nicotine alternatives were included as a means to help in quitting smoking and by 202223 this rate dropped to less than 7%.
The study used joinpoint regression analysis technique, which revealed that the annual rate of decline in smoking increased from 3.5% to 17.9%. That means smoking reduced almost five times faster than before.
What did the expert say
Dr. Saurabh Tomar (MBBS, MD, Pulmonary Medicine, Interventional Pulmonologist, Aakash Healthcare) says that traditional tobacco control measures alone have their limitations. A major change came in New Zealand when regulated and less harmful nicotine alternatives were recognized as a means to quit smoking. Dr. Tomar says that scientific research shows that the main cause of serious diseases like lung cancer, COPD and heart-related diseases is not nicotine, but more than 7,000 toxic chemicals formed by burning tobacco. Therefore, it is important to understand this difference while making policies in India.
The study also revealed that New Zealand implemented strict rules to reduce smoking among adults as well as to protect youth. There, rules like minimum age limit of 18 years, control on flavour, ban on disposable vapes and fixed limit of nicotine were implemented. Even after this, the number of daily smokers among teenagers decreased to a record level.
Tobacco addiction challenge for India
Dr. Satish Kumar Sri (Consultant, Internal Medicine, Pacific One Health Hospital) says that the health systems of India and New Zealand may be different. But the challenge of tobacco addiction is similar in both the countries. According to him, traditional measures alone do not always prove sufficient in chronic smokers. New Zealand’s experience shows that if strict regulations and less harmful nicotine alternatives are made part of the smoking cessation strategy, the pace of smoking reduction can increase.
Methods adopted in India
In India, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already included Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) in its Essential Medicines List. Whereas the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) has exempted 2 mg nicotine gum under Schedule K. Experts believe that India needs to further strengthen existing tobacco control strategies as well as expand scientific and evidence-based smoking cessation facilities to effectively reduce the burden of disease and death caused by tobacco.
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