ABSTRACT
In India, tobacco use is incredibly linked to poverty and accounts for the high public health costs of treating tobacco-related diseases. Dental public health programs aid in detecting the tobacco-related periodontal diseases, oral cancers, etc., where the majority belongs to the submerged portion of iceberg, which otherwise leads to substantial morbidity and mortality. Moreover, public health dentists plays a key role in identifying both clinical and subclinical cases and aid in tobacco use cessation through various modes of health education and counseling. Therefore, the community-based measures are deemed to be the most cost-effective tool for tobacco cessation.
Subject(s)
Cost-Benefit Analysis , Counseling , Health Education, Dental , Health Promotion , Humans , India , Mouth Neoplasms/prevention & control , Periodontal Diseases/prevention & control , Public Health Dentistry , Tobacco Use Cessation/economics , Tobacco Use Cessation/methodsABSTRACT
El tabaquismo amenaza a la humanidad con 500 millones de muertes en los próximos 50 años. Bajo el concepto de que "fumar es una enfermedad", la presencia del médico durante la cesación resulta una responsabilidad ineludible y definitivamente impostergable. La comunidad médica está en falta por demorar muchos años en asumir su rol, inhibiendo su natural compromiso de asistir a la "Cesación Tabáquica". No existe ninguna intervención médica que supere a la cesación tabáquica en la relación costo-beneficio. Formar médicos expertos en tabaquismo no sólo es moralmente impostergable sino que además resultará económicamente conveniente.