Medical Students Need To Quit Tobacco First New Delhi, Saturday 30th may, 2009: There are 25 crore tobacco users in India. As per ICMR, 10 lac deaths in a year and 3000 deaths per day occur due to smoking. Two out of five cancer cases in India are due to tobacco. This was stated by Dr KK Aggarwal President, Heart Care Foundation of India and Director, IMA AKN Sinha Institute on eve of World No Tobacco Day in a seminar organized by Delhi Medical association in the city here today.   Facts about medical students and smoking: Prevalence of tobacco use is more in medical students than in general population. AIIMS survey among medical students of North India shows that smoking in medical students increases as their medical schooling goes ahead.  AIIMS survey shows 56% medical students smoke with 35% of them "nicotine-dependent". 37.5% medical students took to cigarettes after seeing others smoke. 32.5% smoked since they felt it was a stress-buster. 8.75% started due to "peer pressure". 11% were found to be "heavy smokers". 45% had a "family history of smoking". 65% had made attempts to quit. 62% are willing to quit, if assisted. The AIIMS survey indicates that the mean age of starting smoking is 18.65 years.   Facts about movies and tobacco: 76% of Indian movies have tobacco use shown in them. In 1991, there were only 22% of top box office movie hits with lead characters using tobacco on-screen but in 2002, this escalated to 53% tobacco use depiction by lead characters in Indian movies. 52.2% of children in India who had their first smoke are influenced by tobacco use depicted in movies.   Important statistics related to tobacco.    46.5% men and 13.8% women use tobacco in India.    40% of health related problems and 50% of cancer deaths, majority of cardio-vascular and lung disorders are due to tobacco use in India. More than 40% of cancer cases are due to tobacco. As per WHO estimates, 91% of oral cancers in Southeast Asia are directly attributable to the use of tobacco.  Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, stated a US Surgeon General Report in 1988.  It is not easy to quit tobacco, but it is also not impossible.