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Tobacco finds willing victims in teens  

Kaushal (name changed), a teenager who got into the habit of smoking, is now finding it difficult to quit the habit that has started to take its toll on his health. Worst still, addiction of other tobacco forms, including paan masala, has almost pushed him on the brink of oral cancer and he is undergoing treatment at the Banaras Hindu University.

The teenager is not alone as a number of youth, including teenagers, are forced to visit hospitals with various complications, a majority of them related to tobacco smoking and chewing- a sign enough to indicate the fact that the addiction is still finding acceptance amongst youth despite legislative and restrictive measures taken by the government from time to time.

"A growing number of youth are coming to the out-patient department (OPD) with breathing problems with symptoms of asthma these days," acknowledged Dr JK Samaria of department of chest and respiratory diseases, BHU, while talking to TOI on Saturday. "In addition, a high number of these youth are reported to have history of tobacco intake in one form or the other," he informed.

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