Role of Dentist in Tobacco Cessation

Tobacco use contributes to poverty; diversion of household spending from other basic needs such as food and family needs is substituted by expense of tobacco consumption. Illness caused by tobacco leads to increased out-of-pocket spending, and tobacco-related morbidity and mortality are high in the productive age group. Integration of tobacco cessation programmes with health and development programmes can be helpful in overcoming the barriers in tobacco control and decreasing the tobacco-associated burden. For preventing the devastating effect of tobacco, tobacco control policies need to be strictly implemented, and for better penetration of policies, culture-based strategies need to be devised.