Experts call for implementation of ban on gutka, chewing tobacco

Oral cancer has become the most prevalent cancer among Pakistani men due to the use of tobacco products -- most importantly gutka, paan, naswaar and smoking, experts said on the eve of World Oral Health Day and demanded of the government to immediately ban the import of betel nuts and prevent the smuggling of tobacco products from India.

They said a continuous campaign should be launched to create awareness about diseases, including oral cancer and dental ailments, so that people could protect themselves from diseases. They added that almost 95 per cent of dental and oral diseases were preventable by adopting better oral hygiene practices.

“Due to use of chewing tobacco, betel nuts and other smuggled stuff from neighbourig India, oral cancer is now leading cancer among Pakistan men and thousands are now dying due to a highly preventable disease,” said Dr Qaiser Sajjad, secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), while talking to The News on Wednesday.

Dr Sajjad, who is an eminent ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, maintained that thousands of tons of betel nuts, chewing tobacco and other carcinogenic stuff were either being imported or smuggled into Pakistan, which were causing cancer and becoming a leading cause of death and permanent disability among Pakistani youth.

“No country in the world allows the import or the smuggling of hazardous material by spending valuable foreign exchange, but we are spending millions of dollars on betel nuts, chewing tobacco, which are resulting in cancer and other lethal diseases in our population,” he said and demanded from the government to immediately put a ban on these imports and take measures to prevent the smuggling of cancer-causing stuff into Pakistan.

Similarly, the government should promote preventives measures, public awareness and oral hygiene practices among the people, Dr Sajjad said, adding that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were doing their best to create awareness but that was not enough.

He said the government should establish a separate department for promoting best health practices, awareness and preventives measures as Pakistan could not afford to treat such a large number of its population, which was becoming sick due to ignorance.

Another expert, dental surgeon Dr Aamir Khan said oral cavity is gateway to body and if the mouth becomes unhealthy, the entire body could suffer. He urged the people to adopt oral health practices as taught by Islam some 1400 years back.

“Islam asks its followers to clean their mouths at least five times a day while making ablution and using miswak for oral hygiene, which shows the importance of oral health and hygiene,” he said and maintained that cleanliness had been declared as half of the faith in Islam.

Dr Khan, who is serving as a senior dental surgeon at the Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad, maintained that gutka was the leading cause of oral cavity diseases due to hazardous chemical used in its preparations and deplored that youngsters were getting their teeth and entire oral cavity destroyed by chewing this lethal stuff.

“When I see people chewing this stuff, gutka and other forms of oral tobacco, I feel that these people are committing a forbidden sin. They are not only disobeying the Islamic injunction regarding the maintenance of oral hygiene but also destroying their health for nothing,” he deplored and urged youngsters to get rid of their habit of chewing tobacco and smoking to remain healthy.