‘Over 90 percent reported oral cancer cases are linked to tobacco use’

More than 90 percent oral cancer cases reported at hospitals across the country are linked to tobacco use, said Professor SM Tariq Rafi, vice chancellor of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University, here on Saturday.

Addressing an awareness session on oral health, organised for the Karachi traffic police officials, he said the harmful effects of tobacco abuse can take upto 20 to 25 years to manifest its deadly implications.

Dr Marium Azfar, incharge of a Community Dentistry programme, at Jinnah Sindh Medical University, said the chewing of harmful substances leads to minor gum diseases in the initial phase but gradually it leads to cancers.

She stressed the need for individual responsibility in spreading awareness of the harmful effects of chewing substances like tobacco, betel leaf, gutka and niswar.

SSP Traffic (South) Dr Asad Ejaz Malhi on the occasion acknowledged that the lack of awareness regarding the deadly effects of chewing betel leaf, gutka, betel nut and other substances had put a large portion of the population at a high risk.

He thanked the university for arranging the awareness session and urged the cops to adopt healthy habits.

The session organised by the JSMU Student Council in collaboration with the Department of Community Dentistry also included oral checkups of traffic police staff.

The Dean Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences Professor Kefi Iqbal and its principal, Prof Dr Zubair Abbasi, also spoke on the occasion.

Student Council representatives Moiz Ahmed, Asad Hussain Malik, Kiran Abbas, Abdul Moeed and Shaji Naveed assisted the faculty in oral checkups. The event was part of the JSMU’s Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences outreach programme, which aims to spread awareness about oral health.