India: Smoking Major Vector For TB Deaths

Main Category: Tuberculosis
Also Included In: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 31 Mar 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Following the World Health Organisations, warning that tuberculosis killed 1.7 million people in India and China in 2006, anti-tobacco campaigners claim that smoking was the main factor causing the spread of TB and death from the disease.

Dr. P C Gupta of Healis Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, said, "Smokers have an increased risk of contracting TB and suffer much worse symptoms. In India smoking is responsible for the spread of TB and kills more people than lung cancer."

Dr Gupta added, "When researchers looked at the effect of smoking, the findings revealed that 40 percent of TB deaths were among men and it happened because of smoking."

"While it's true that TB is more common among the lower socio economic groups because of over-crowding and poverty, the common use of smoking and tobacco, played a major role in the spread of the disease which is swelling despite the fact that there's a cure available for it."

http://www.ash.org.uk