Stop Paan

Smokeless tobacco and areca nut usage are integral cultural traditions in South Asia. Paan and gutka are two commonly used products which contain these ingredients. They are immensely popular in South Asia and with South Asian immigrants.

Regular paan and gutka use is associated with several deleterious health consequences, most significantly oral cancer. Of particular concern is the markedly increased risk of oral cancer in South Asian immigrants when compared with the natives in new areas of settlement.

The South Asian community in the U.S. is large and rapidly growing. Paan and gutka are legal in the U.S., and readily available in ethnic enclaves. Smokeless tobacco prevention and cessation research and interventions have not yet addressed the unique sociocultural circumstances of this growing, at-risk community. The medical, dental and public health communities need to join forces to combat this emerging threat.

STOP PAAN engages in diverse activities to reduce oral cancer disparities in South Asians.

With funding from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, STOP PAAN conducted a pilot study was to explore the patterns of paan and gutka consumption in the Indian-Gujarati and Bangladeshi communities in the New York metropolitan area. This pilot study provides previously unavailable smokeless tobacco use data, which is essential to allow for precise planning of larger, and definitive, paan and gutka oral cancer risk studies of on paan and gutka use in U.S. South Asian immigrant populations. STOP PAAN was selected to present the pilot study results at the 10th International Congress On Oral Cancer in Greece in April 2005.

The need for public education on the harms of paan and gutka cannot be overemphasized. Further, oral cancer can be easily detected through a simple oral examination, and is eminently suitable for primary and secondary prevention. STOP PAAN is committed to preventing smokeless tobacco use through community education, and to conducting community-based oral cancer screening to detect precancerous lesions. STOP PAAN receives funding from the New York State Department of Health and the RAAHP* Center (*=Research on Adolescents and Adult Health Promotion) to engage the community to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate oral cancer education materials. We also provide screening, early detection, and referral to treatment for oral cancers in the South Asian community. To download STOP PAAN brochures, please click here.

For further information on STOP PAAN, or to schedule an oral cancer screening for your community, please contact:

Sapna Pandya, M.P.H.
sapna.pandya@med.nyu.edu
(212) 263-3764