Background and Context: India has a very high incidence of Oral Cancer due to excessive use of Smokeless Tobacco -GUTKA. The tobacco chewing starts from quite young, school going age.hence awareness programs for the society is a must.
Aim: Create awareness about the health hazards of Tobacco and motivate Doctors to help in Tobacco cessation program.
Doctors should learn the “5A” of Smoking Cessation & tobacco control-
1. ASK every pt. about smoking
2. ADVISE all patients to quit tobacco
3. ASSESS their willingness to quit
4. ASSIST smokers with treatments and referrals &
5. ARRANGE follow ups.
Doctors should incultate the habit of using the “5A” in their regular, day to day, practice and thereby help in Tobacco Cessation program . As the Doctors are in Live contact with the patients & public, their words are better heard & followed by them.Specialists who treat smokers now emphasize a double-barreled approach that combines counseling and medication. There are plenty of tools to help smokers quit their habit –websites, groups, email reminders, SMS support are being increasingly used. Pharmacotherapy- like Nicotine Gums, Patches, nasal sprays and drugs like Bupropion & Varenicline are being increasingly used. But the cold turkey method has still has the highest number of unaided quitters.
Outcomes/What was learned:This is an ongoing process, but the doctors have now become motivated in Tobacco Control