JAIPUR: Health minister Parsadi Lal Meena whipped up a controversy on World Cancer Day by saying, “Cancer happens to those also who do not smoke tobacco and then there are those who smoke tobacco excessively and don’t get cancer.”
He said, “I live in a village where there are people who smoke tobacco 20 times a day but they don’t develop cancer. But, there are those who do not smoke but still get cancer. In cities, who do not smoke also get cancer. Cancer can happen to anyone. Doctors can tell you why cancer happen,” said Meena on Friday.
NGOs working for a long time for discouraging tobacco use criticised the statement made by the health minister on tobacco and cancer.
Jan Swasthya Abhiyan will also be writing to chief minister Ashok Gehlot highlighting the comment of health minister on “negating links between tobacco and cancer.”
Jan Swasthya Abhiyan Rajasthan condemns his statement and demands that he either withdraws his statement immediately or resigns from his post.
“Health minister’s statement to the media negating any link of tobacco with cancer is utterly shocking. In response to a question from a journalist, the health minister had said cancer can happen to anyone.....cancer has nothing to do with tobacco.....many people in my village consume tobacco, but they never got cancer…,” Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said.
“It seems that the health minister is not aware that a person who consumes tobacco is two-and-a-half times more likely to have cancer than the person who does not consume it. Tobacco consists of more than 50 such toxic chemicals which when enters the body augment the risk of different kind of cancers,” said JSA.
“He is probably also not aware that every year more than 88,000 people in Rajasthan alone and more than 13 lakh people across the country lose their lives due to tobacco-related diseases. Tobacco in different forms is the cause of about 27% of all cancers across the country. About 45% of all cancers in men and 17% in women have been found to be directly related to tobacco use. Our country is the oral cancer capital of the world which is mainly caused due to tobacco consumption. In such a situation, this statement of health minister is not only extremely insensitive, but also indicates his weak understanding of health issues. Such reckless statement by a person holding a significant position not only sends a wrong message in the public but would also prove to be a big blow to the tobacco control efforts going on across the state,” the JSA said.
