GUWAHATI: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Tobacco Control Division), Government of India, will set up a Regional Satellite Center of Tobacco Quitline Services (RSCTQS) at Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati.
The tobacco quitline service shall act as a milestone development as far as tobacco-control in the State and North East is concerned, as it will provide an opportunity to a large number of tobacco users to quit its consumption and hence, the addiction. Dedicated counselors will provide telephonic counseling at the RSCTQS.
Dr. Amal Chandra Kataki, Director of BBCI has informed that the Ministry will provide full funding for the infrastructure development, salary of 22 counselors, and other ancillary support to run the quitline services center. The quitline service center will be inaugurated on the 15" of August 2018, and the work in this regard like manpower recruitment has already been initiated, further stated Dr Kataki. He additionally informed that the quitline will be co-ordinated by the Preventive Oncology Department of BBCI.
As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) report of 2010, the national prevalence of tobacco consumption was 34.6%, which has decreased to 28.6% in 2017. However, in the State of Assam, tobacco consumption has increased from 39.3% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2017.
All other North East States except Sikkim have a high prevalence of tobacco consumption. Because of this reason, Tobacco Related Cancers (TRC) in the North Eastern states are the highest in the country, as per the National Cancer Registry Programme of the Indian Council of Medical Research.
