Hyderabad, 12th September, 2008: Popular cine hero and youth Icon Vishnu joined Apollo oncologists Dr Vijay Anand Reddy, Director & Dr Umanath Naik, Consultant Head & Neck Oncologist, Apollo Cancer Institute, Hyderabad in strongly espousing the cause of ‘No Tobacco Usage’, especially amongst the youth in the country. Vishnu, who was disturbed by the statistics presented and seriousness of cancer affliction amongst the youth of the country, extended his support in the fight against tobacco usage.

According to Dr Vijay Anand Reddy the Incidence of Cancer is alarmingly increasing in the world, more so in India. Ten lakh new Cancer cases are detected every year in India alone. Of the known causes of cancer, Tobacco form the biggest culprit. Twenty five percent of the new cancer cases detected are tobacco related! Forty seven percent of the population above the age of 15 yrs are addicted to tobacco in our country.

Oral Cancers constitutes 10% of the total Cancers. The incidence of oral cancer in our country is very high compared to developed countries – 17 per 1 Lakh in India compared to 11 per one lakh in US and 2 per one lakh in Japan. The reason being usage of Oral tobacco is very high in India, says Dr Umanath Naik.

Oral cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. The one and only way to prevent or reduce the incidence of oral cancer is to create awareness. To create awareness in the society we need to do awareness programmes at frequent intervals. We are mainly targeting the younger generation of twin cities who are getting addicted to various forms of tobacco chewing and smoking. Role models like Vishnu can make the difference in influencing the youth against the usage of tobacco, says Dr Reddy.