70,230 tobacco users screened in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode districts; 88 out of 1 lakh had oral cancer A cancer screening programme conducted by Coimbatore-based Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Oncology and Research (SRIOR) among tobacco users in Coimbatore, Tirupur, and Erode districts showed that 88 out of 1 lakh population had oral cancer. Of the 70,230 tobacco users screened in the three districts over a period of five years, Erode district topped with 45 cases, followed by Tirupur with 26 and Coimbatore with 17 cases. The screening was done under SRIOR’s programme DEEPAM (Detect Early Ensure Prevention and Management) from 2012 to 2017. High risk category people – those smoking and chewing tobacco- were screened in camps organised at Primary Health Centres (PHC) and private camps. While 52,886 screenings were done in PHCs in the three districts in five years, SRIOR conducted 17,344 private camps in the same period. As many as 24,045 tobacco users were screened in Coimbatore in 2012-14 period, 32,040 users from Tirupur in 2014-16, and 14,145 tobacco users were screened in Erode during 2016-17 (till May). “Of the 70,230 people screened, 15,619 were smokers, while 19,158 had the habit of chewing tobacco. Smoker’s palate, oral submucous fibrosis, leukoplakia, angular cheilitis, keratosis and erythroplakia were other common health problems checked during the screening. People detected with these conditions are in the high risk category,” said P. Guhan, Director of SRIOR. “The screenings conducted with the help of dentists and oncologists showed that less priority was given for oral health. Those screened were aware of the ill-effects. Apart from counselling to 33,387 people screened, they were also provided nicotine gum to quit the habits of smoking and chewing tobacco,” said Dr. Guhan. Coimbatore District Collector T.N. Hariharan launched SRIOR’s digital awareness pen-drive project as part of World No Tobacco Day observance on Wednesday. The pen-drive contains information about cancers and ill-effects of tobacco. R. Vijaya Kumar, Managing Trustee of SNR Sons Charitable Trust, and K. Karthikesh, consultant and surgical oncologist, SRIOR, took part in the programme.