AIIMS clinic for tobacco addicts

Bhubaneswar: AIIMS Bhubaneswar will start Tobacco Cessation Clinic from Friday to help people kick the habit. It is an initiative under its Drug De-addiction Programme run by the department of psychiatry of the national institution.Dillip Kumar Parida, medical superintendent of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said the clinic will open every Friday. Now the drug de-addiction programme gives emphasis on different types of substance abuse. But this particular clinic will focus on tobacco addiction, he added.He said Suravi Patra, additional professor of psychiatry department, is the nodal officer of this programme that will run the clinic. If a person wants to consult any doctor of the clinic, he/she will need to visit the psychiatry department and get a token for consultation. Official sources said after the consultation, the patients can get either pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment. The people who are addicted to smoking and chewing tobacco regularly can visit the clinic and take help of the experts, it added. Biswa Ranjan Mishra, head of psychiatry department, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said many youths stay addicted because they do not face social stigma for smoking or chewing tobacco. They get it easily from the market without any problem, he added.“As it is an addictive disorder, a person gets psychological and physical effects. We know chewing and smoking tobacco can cause diseases like oral cancer, cardiovascular disease and other respiratory disorders,” said Mishra. He said though he does not have data about the exact number of tobacco-addicted people in the state, the use is on the rise.