Smoking kills, they said in their hollow voices

Gowramma, 48, lost her voice box and the entire food pipe to cancer caused due to tobacco chewing for more than 12 years.

Post surgery, her food pipe was removed and her stomach is now just below her throat making it extremely difficult for her to chew food and digest it. Speaking in a hollow male voice using voice prosthetics, she said no one should suffer the way she has.

“Tobacco is an addiction, which does not kill you immediately. The suffering is prolonged and it kills you every minute,” she said.
Durgaiah, 52, also lost his voice box for smoking ‘beedi’ for more than 15 years. He now volunteers in awareness programmes and wants to save people who are on the verge of developing cancer.

These cancer survivors spoke about their fight against tobacco at the ‘Freedom from Tobacco’ programme organised by Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMRCI) on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Medical Education Minister S A Ramdas said the government is always in a dilemma about dealing with tobacco-related issues. “It, no doubt, is a health burden, but it is also a question of employment for 38 million people in the country. The tobacco industry, especially the multinational corporations, influence government policies and taxation in the budget as it contributes significantly to the government’s exchequer,” he said.

Responding to the cancer survivors’ charter of demands, the minister promised to set up a committee to keep a check on the tobacco control programmes in the State. While saying that Karnataka was the second largest producer of tobacco, Ramdas said there was a need for a ‘No tobacco policy’ in the State as the government cannot afford to promote tobacco any more.

About banning gutkha and food products containing tobacco, he said it was a difficult decision, which required cooperation from all the sectors. He insisted on raising taxes on tobacco products and suggested having an anti-tobacco cell in every medical college.

‘Don’t get carried away’

With regard to sale and indirect advertising, he advised youngsters not to get carried away by celebrities promoting smoking through movies and urged that the film industry and cricketers should come together to create awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco.

Talking about the dangers of passive smoking, Dr Shashidhar Buggi, director, SDS, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), said how a petty shop owner without chewing or smoking tobacco developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“Though this shopkeeper never used tobacco, he sold cigarettes and beedis. Smokers used to buy from him and smoke around his shop. He was actively a passive smoker. This middle-aged man finally spent half of his life’s earnings on his treatment,” he said.