An impact of reduction in point prevalence of tobacco use on cancer incidence- A challenge for global policy makers

Worldwide 8.2 million people die from cancer & 2/3rd of them are from LMIC. Tobacco-related cancer (TRCs) accounts a major share. In India, 45% of male's and 20% of female's cancer is due to tobacco use. Nearly half of all cancers in men occur at sites associated with tobacco use( Farhood and et al., 2018 Mar) .11 Objective This attempt to find out impact of tobacco prevalence on incidence rate of Tobacco related cancers across various states of India. This can help policy makers to understand and formulate control measures to curb the increasing trend of TRCs. Methods Age standardised incidence rate of TRCs from Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study and tobacco prevalence from NFHS-4 data was observed. State-wise data harmonisation towards tobacco prevalence and cancer incidence was performed. Results Reduction of tobacco consumption prevalence only 1% may decline incidence of lip, oral cavity and larynx cancer by 23.56 per 10 lac female populations and incidence of pharynx cancer by 25.31 per 10 lac male populations. Conclusion Tobacco consumption contributes substantial AAR of TRCs among both sexes in most of the Indian states while, other factors need to be considered too. Hence, systematic, multi-sectorial coercive approach to curtail the burden related to TRCs is imperative.