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

Background: It is suggested that various forms of tobacco use have some effects on diverse sites of head and neck to develop cancer. Material and Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.