World No Tobacco Day: meet the organisations that can help you kick that butt
Almost 267 million people in India use tobacco; of these, about one million die every year. If you want to quit smoking - and there's no time like the present - these de-addiction and rehabilitation centres can help you.
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We all know the detrimental effects of tobacco use on our health. Every time a cigarette, bidi, or kretek is smoked, toxic chemicals and carcinogens are released, exposing us to diseases like pneumonia, bronchitis, diabetes, stroke, and even cancer.
A staggering 266.8 million adults in India use tobacco in some form, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 (GATS 2), released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016-17.
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A man smoking a traditional "bidi" in Delhi.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Every year, on May 31, World No Tobacco Day is marked around the world, including India, to raise awareness about the health hazards of using tobacco. In 2007, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) to formulate tobacco control laws in the country. Many organisations and citizens have been conducting awareness campaigns and drives highlighting the harmful ramifications of consuming tobacco. Despite these efforts, why do people still use the substance?
Tobacco is a stimulant that has addictive properties. A number of individuals keep trying to quit tobacco, but most of them either give up halfway or end up making futile attempts.
So, this World No Tobacco Day, we curated a list of de-addiction and rehabilitation centres you can reach out to combat the tobacco epidemic.
1. Sarvam
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Bidis being made in Murshidabad.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Sarvam, a neuropsychiatric centre in the town of Kalka, Haryana, offers customised rehabilitation facilities and a healing environment for people suffering from substance abuse, including tobacco, opioids, marijuana, and other stimulants. The institution helps individuals to restore and recoup by putting them through three sequential phases – diagnosis, planning, and intervention.
The process starts with the practitioner assisting the individual to determine their readiness for rehabilitation and setting a goal after evaluating their needs. Based on this, a schedule is prepared for daily activities, exercise, and diet. One-on-one or group therapy sessions are also held at regular intervals to evaluate progress and fill in the gaps, if any.
The centre is backed by a consortium of mental health professionals led by a team of psychiatrists and social workers.
2. NIMHANS – Tobacco Cessation Centre
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A street vendor selling bidis and cigarettes.
Image credit: Shutterstock
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, runs a service to aid persons wishing to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Their in-house tobacco cessation centre examines the severity of the addiction, their motivation to quit, and other medical assessments like the state of the respiratory system and amount of carbon monoxide (a byproduct of tobacco use) in their body.
Once the evaluation is complete, individuals are counselled on strategies to enable them to quit, which is usually a combination of medicines to reduce the nicotine urge and also behavioural tips to deal with withdrawal symptoms.
3. Tobacco Intervention Initiative
Tobacco Intervention Initiative (TII), led by the Indian Dental Association (IDA), is a professionally-led "call-to-action" programme to eradicate tobacco addiction. The initiative aims to make India tobacco-free by 2020 through its oral health programmes. The researchers, educators, and dental practitioners are trained for prevention and counseling.
Besides this, TII is looking forward to establish an alliance with key influencers and policymakers from fields like research, education, clinical practice, public health, and government to make way for a healthy India.
4. Piramal Swasthya
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Millions of Indians use tobacco in some form or the other.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Piramal Swasthya is a registered not-for-profit organisation supported by Piramal Foundation, and functioning with centres across 20 states in India. The NGO operates a cancer screening programme called Detect Early Save Him/Her (D.E.S.H) in Assam, since the state has the highest reported oral cancer-related mortality ratio due to the use of tobacco.
With the objective of reducing the burden of oral cancer, the programme offers various interventions like awareness generation, early screening, lifestyle management sessions, de-addiction, and rehabilitation. The NGO also has partnerships with cancer care institutions.
5. Art of Living
The Art of Living is a non-profit, educational, and humanitarian organisation founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. It provides a de-addiction programme called Living Well. The initiative helps people to quit tobacco by focusing on medical detoxification, clinical and psychological therapy, managing abstinence, and relapse prevention strategy.
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Most organisations offer individuals strategies and tips to quit tobacco addiction.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
In addition to this, the organisation also trains people to use techniques like sudarshan kriya, pranayama, and yoga to overcome cravings.
Quitting the use of tobacco is not easy. But, the good news is that you don’t need to do it alone. De-addiction and rehabilitation centres can support and help you; all you gotta do is power through.
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