Despite countless warnings and repeated discussions, the number of people falling prey to the habit of smoking or chewing tobacco is increasing.
Today the world is celebrating 'World No Tobacco Day' but there are some who have already destroyed their life because of their addiction to tobacco.
In Nagpur, a tobacco survivor gave up on chewing tobacco but cannot chew anything else now.
Mobin Ahmed Raza cannot open his mouth even half to show his remaining six teeth. Two oral cancer surgeries and radiation therapy later, the 53-year-old trader cannot even chew his food properly.
This is the result of his addiction to tobacco for the past 20 years.
''I still feel bad that I used to consume a bad thing. I can't eat properly. No fruits, nothing chewable. I can't enjoy my food,'' said Mobin Ahmed Raza, a tobacco addict.
The Government Dental College in Nagpur has seen a steady rise in the number of such cases.
This is despite continued efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco consumption.
''Last year SRK's Chak De India was on popularity charts. We made a poster asking Chod De India, asking the tobacco and gutka lovers to quit the horrible habit and the manufacturers to stop production,'' said Dr Vinay Hazaare, Dean, Nagpur Dental College.
There are five million tobacco related deaths in India every year.
Dentists associated with the awareness campaign plan to include patients like Raza to boost the effectiveness of their campaign and bring down the number of tobacco related deaths.
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080051598&ch=5/31/2008%206:29:00%20PM
