As mentioned in the recent circular issued by the National Medical Commission on 12th July 2024,
“In line with its commitment to promote public health and combating the adverse effects of Tobacco Use, the Government has decided to establish Tobacco cessation Centres in medical colleges across the country. This initiative aims to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure by integrating specialized services for tobacco cessation into educational and healthcare framework.” 2
“Tobacco Cessation Centers” (TCC) these words echoing in my mind, ushered memories from my stint at TATA Memorial Center, Mumbai, in the Department of Community Oncology, way back in 1997.
This was the wonderful era when we were truly able to make a difference to people’s lives ..yes ..you guessed right..through Tobacco Cessation Centers/Clinics. These TCCs were so very engaging where the Tobacco users benefitted through an experience share.
As I vividly remember those times, anecdotes appear as flashes especially their reason to begin tobacco use which were so intriguing that I would like to pen a few….
- There was this pretty young lady, an aspiring actress who was in the struggling phase of her career and a smoker. She was under tremendous pressure of star image building and wanted to maintain her petite slim frame but was addicted to un controlled bingeing. Somehow she landed up with a conviction that smoking suppresses appetite and thus began her journey with Toacco and its use.
- A middle aged couple reported to the TCC and interestingly both were smokers. On probing I was surprised to know the intricacies. The gentleman had picked up the habit as part of his business parties but the concerned wife was so worried about his smoking that she used to pull off his cigarette midway whenever she caught him smoking and kept asking him, what is so great in the cigarette, that he did not oblige her forever request to stop. To check it out, she tried the same and developed a liking to it and slid don the addiction path.
- The other case of a young girl whose father was a smoker, stayed with me and my psyche. She had lost her mother at a very young age and was very attached to her father who had single handedly brought her up. She happened to lose her father in an accident and was left alone with her solitude. She would keep scrambling through his clothes and keep hugging them, wearing them, thus perceiving his presence which gave her solace. Over a period of time, she realised that she missed the smell that lingered when her father was around.
The inception of her smoking habit was thus established which gave her mind peace and comfort - I lucidly remember the day a desparate father had brought his son, around 10 years old who was a slave to the Ghutka chewing habit. He had advanced submucus firbosis and a bite of only one inch, that too at a tender age of 10 years. As we spoke, the son excused himself to quoting a nature’s call. After a while, sensing his long absence, the father looked around only to find him in the washroom with his two used ghutka pouches lying on the floor and his mouth full of its contents. Such was his craving and dependency.
Well! The encounters were myriad and multifaceted . Such tenets are unique, not picked up in surveys just reiterating the fact that Tobcco use, be it in the smoking or smokeless form can get kickstarted with very absurd sounding rationality yet very convincing to the Tobacco users.
Kudos to the National Medical Commission on the TCC initiative, which will not only provide the Tobacco Users a support system but also provide the doctors, insights into their lives which metamorphasize into everlasting memories, valueadding to the national Tobacco Program.
References:
- 1. https://gokahani.com/post/2011149866885a054f172a7aff676c071/- हर-फिकर-को-धुए-में-उद्दता-चला-गया-nisha-gupta/
- Circular No.47/15/2024-Coord-NMC dated 12th July’2024
