Tobacco Habits and Risk of Oral Cancer: A Retrospective Study in India

It is suggested that various forms of tobacco use have some effects on diverse sites of head and neck to develop cancer. The study examines data for oral cancer in male subjects, collected from the population registered in cancer registry during the year 2007- 2008. All the data collected were entered into the spreadsheets. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 11.0 was used for data processing and data analysis. Smoking and chewing develops a high risk of oral cancer. Most of the tobacco consumers are in their 40s. People younger than 30 years used betel-quid in abundance (47.1%). Bidi was the choice of tobacco for 41-50 age group. In people with less than ten years duration of using tobacco products, gutkha was consumed in abundance (20.7%). For frequency of 6-10 times per day, smoking Bidi was consumed in 61.4% of instances. The crux of the problem is that majority of the cases are reported with a significant delay to the health care facility. Nationwide counseling on tobacco cessation is required in a developing country like India.