Dr. Pawan Gupta, Director of Surgical Oncology HN, MAX Institute of Cancer Care – EZ and Founder of ICanCaRe was invited faulty at the annual conference of the Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology held at Guwahati from 4-6th November 2022.
It is an honor to be invited to deliver a talk at an august gathering of stalwarts who are at the helm of changing the scenario for head and neck cancer patients.
Gratitude to Dr. Prathamesh Pai, President, FHNO, and Dr. Ashok Das Organising secretary of the annual conference of FHNO 2022.
Dr. Pawan Gupta delivered a talk on “TOBACCO CESSATION STRATEGY AND CAPACITY BUILDING” Chair of the talk were Dr. Munin Baruah and Dr. Tasnin Rahman.
Dr. Pawan Gupta emphasized that Tobacco Cessation in India is different and the western methodology cannot be just copied for our Indian patients. The Indians have different sorts of problems and each problem needs to be addressed independently. Tobacco cessation is now available, feasible, and effective. ICanCaRe has evolved the methodology over a period of time and simplified it by laying down some simple protocols – put as ABCD of Tobacco Cessation. A standard intervention but customized for the individual as per digital protocol on the ICanCaRe app (http://app.icancare.in) has borne results.
The simplified protocol needs to be amplified with the involvement of everyone across society. People need specialists who can successfully treat this complex disease of Tobacco Addiction. ICanCaRe academy trains people at three different levels to get involved in tobacco control – TOBACCO MARSHAL, TOBACCO AMBASSADORS, and TOBACCO INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS (www.icancare.in/academy). The course has been accredited by Gujarat University and is an intensive practical course to introduce standardized intervention for tobacco cessation across India. We need to have effective tobacco cessation clinics across India manned by a trained and skilled specialists, visibly present and networked with other specialists to benefit their patients.
The Talk was followed by a discussion on the use of Areccanut and controlling the same. Areccanut commonly called supari, Guha, etc is another big havoc causing a major public nuisance and promoting illness. The problem was highlighted by Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi who led the panel discussion with panelists representing the society – Dr. Ashok Das, Dr. Tashnin Rahman, Dr. Chanmiki Miki, Dr. Gayatri Gogoi, Mrs. Zublee Baruah, Mr. Amit Yadav, Dr. Ravi Kannan, Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, Dr. Prathamesh Pai, Dr. Pawan Gupta, Dr. Munin Baruah. It was decided to frame a Guwahati declaration on the outcome of the panel discussion.
Tobacco is a public problem and it is important that everyone gets involved and stand strong to subdue the Tobacco Industry.
