THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Adoor Prakash today launched a campaign called ‘Tobacco-Free Kerala’, intended at controlling tobacco use in the state, especially among the youth, by a coalition of the same name.The members of the coalition are Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Malabar Cancer Centre, Voice of Tobacco Victims, Kerala Voluntary Health Services and MD-Niche, which is the media sensitisation arm of the campaign.The launch of the campaign was held at a function attended by Health Secretary Rajeev Sadanandan. While Minister is the chairman of the coalition, RCC director Dr Paul Sebastian is the vice-chairman.The campaign is in the wake of research reports and studies on the growing incidence of tobacco use in Kerala. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-10, conducted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has revealed that 21.4 percent of adults use tobacco in any form. These figures point out that as many as 2.8 million people in the state face the threat of premature deaths on account of tobacco use. Studies have also shown that tobacco is a risk factor for six of the eight leading causes of death in the world. These include ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, lower respiratory tract infections and cancer in various parts of the body.
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