Effect of National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) on the clinical presentation of oral cancer in a tertiary care center of Northern India

Background – Tobacco use is very common in India. Main effect of tobacco usage which is becoming alarming for India is Oral cancer. NTCP was launched in India to control excessive tobacco use. With this study we want to see the change in clinical presentation of oral cancer patients after 15 years of NTCP. Methods – Oral cancer patients registered in the year 2004-2006 (before NTCP, group A) and 2022-2023 (after NTCP, group B) in a hospital were evaluated. Characteristics of oral cancer and the tobacco use behaviour were noted, and analyzed statistically. Results – Proportion of patients who smoke <1 packet/day has decreased among oral cancer patients. Chewable tobacco use has remained same. Proportion of patients presenting 1st time in hospital having symptoms of oral cancer for <3 months has increased and >12 months has decreased significantly. There is no significant change in the overall staging of oral cancer patients. Conclusion – Among oral cancer patients’ awareness about the disease has increased. The patients have now started seeking help sooner, but the overall staging has not changed. Tobacco usage has also not decreased much. NTCP can become more effective by controlling availability of chewable tobacco in society.