AMN / BENGALURU
Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, leading oncologists and public health experts have raised alarm over the sharp rise of several lesser-known but highly dangerous tobacco-related cancers in India, warning that the disease burden is increasingly affecting younger age groups.
Specialists from Sammprada Hospital, Bengaluru, said tobacco is no longer associated only with lung cancer, but is now linked to nearly 25 to 30 different forms of cancer, including cancers of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder and liver.
Doctors cautioned that India continues to face one of the world’s heaviest tobacco burdens, particularly due to widespread consumption of smokeless tobacco products, which significantly increase the risk of oral and head-and-neck cancers.
According to cancer experts, head-and-neck cancers have emerged as some of the most common tobacco-related cancers in the country after lung cancer, driven by both smoking and chewing tobacco habits.
The specialists also expressed concern over the increasing number of aggressive cancer cases being diagnosed among teenagers and young adults. They referred to a recent case involving a 16-year-old patient diagnosed with tobacco-related head-and-neck cancer, describing it as a serious warning sign for society.
Dr. Radheshyam Naik, Founder and Medical Director of Sammprada Hospital’s Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, said tobacco exposure is now contributing to a growing number of highly aggressive cancers that are often detected at advanced stages.
“Tobacco is not limited to lung cancer anymore. We are witnessing increasing cases of esophageal, pancreatic, bladder, stomach and liver cancers directly linked to tobacco use. Many of these cancers are diagnosed late and are extremely difficult to treat,” he said.
Dr. Naik added that early tobacco exposure among children and teenagers is becoming a major public health threat. “We recently treated a teenage patient suffering from tobacco-related head-and-neck cancer. This should serve as a wake-up call for families, schools and policymakers,” he said.
Health experts noted that tobacco-related cancers are often biologically more aggressive and respond poorly to treatment.
Dr. Vinod Ramani, Consultant in Preventive Oncology at Sammprada Hospital, said tobacco users frequently face higher risks of treatment complications, recurrence of cancer and even secondary cancers.
“Smoking slows wound healing after surgery, increases infection risks and reduces the effectiveness of cancer therapy. In many cases, outcomes are significantly worse compared to cancers unrelated to tobacco exposure,” he explained.
Doctors also highlighted the broader impact of tobacco on the human body beyond cancer. Dr. P.S. Prabhakaran, former Vice Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and former Director of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, said tobacco severely damages the cardiovascular system.
“It increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other vascular complications. When cancer treatment is added to an already weakened system, the risk of severe complications rises considerably,” he said.
Public health specialists warned that the misconception of a “safe limit” for tobacco continues to encourage addiction and delay medical intervention.
Dr. K. Prabhakara Rao, a tobacco control expert, stressed that there is effectively no safe level of tobacco exposure. “Cancer risk depends on how early tobacco use begins, how long it continues and the intensity of exposure. The earlier young people start smoking or chewing tobacco, the greater their lifetime cancer risk becomes,” he said.
Experts also pointed to the growing incidence of cancers that often receive limited public attention, including cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, kidney, bladder and liver, along with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and head-and-neck cancers.
Calling for stronger awareness campaigns, doctors urged authorities to expand anti-tobacco messaging beyond lung cancer and focus on the wider spectrum of tobacco-related diseases. They also emphasized the importance of early screening, stricter tobacco-control policies and targeted intervention programmes for young people.
“Many people still wrongly believe that avoiding lung disease means tobacco use is manageable. The reality is that tobacco affects nearly every organ system and is linked to dozens of cancers. Prevention remains our most powerful defense,” Dr. Naik said.