New Delhi, May 24 (PTI) A national resource centre for oral health and tobacco cessation was on Tuesday opened by the Delhi government here with the objective of spreading awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco and drugs, provide better training to dentists and to conduct research on dental healthcare, officials said.The city government claimed that it was "first" such facility in the country.Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain inaugurated the National Resource Centre for Oral Health and Tobacco Cessation (NRC-OH-TC), the government said in a statement. The centre has been "established with the objective of spreading awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco and drugs, to provide better training to the dentists of the country and to conduct research on dental health"."It is the first national resource centre among the total 315 dental colleges in the country," the statement said.Furthermore, the minister also launched the official logo of the NRC-OH-TC.Jain said most of the people are still not aware about their oral health and dental hygiene, and this is the reason why the cases of oral cancer are increasing rapidly, even among the youth."Every year more than seven million deaths occur due to tobacco use alone across the world. This is an alarming signal for the people. Nicotine found in tobacco is very harmful to health and well-being."Due to its consumption, there is a possibility of dangerous diseases like cancer, depression, impotence, but people are still finding it difficult to stay away from consuming tobacco. Tobacco use weakens the brain and nervous system," the statement quoting Jain said.Jain said if one wants to avoid these diseases, then it is better to give up addiction of consuming tobacco from today itself. It is important for everyone to understand that oral health is as important as the health of the body. In such a situation, it is important that one takes special care of dental health, he said.Dentists of the country, including in Delhi, will be given better training at this centre. Different types of training programmes and sessions will be conducted. Also, this centre will play an important role in conducting research, developing and supporting government policies, it said.Due to this, the policies of the government will be formulated by keeping the population in mind and those who are addicted to consuming tobacco avoiding their oral health and dental hygiene.Various awareness programmes about health-related issues would also be organized at the centre, it said.Jain said for the last 10 years, 10,000 patients have been treated at the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS) for tobacco prevention and cessation.It has always played a leading role in delivering quality dental care, research and dental education to serve the needy. Due to this today, it has got the status of having the country"s first national resource centre, it said.Dr. Sangeeta Talwar, Director, MAIDS, said the centre will now play a key role in developing a range of dental healthcare professionals in patient care, research and tobacco cessation. Tobacco cessation will help many helpless and needy people who are unaware of the ill-effects of tobacco consumption."I appeal to all the health institutions and the people of the country to spread maximum awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco. Comprehensive efforts are needed to completely stop the use of tobacco in the country or to eliminate the pathology of the drug," she said.Other goals of the centre would be contribution to policy-making.The centre will play an important role in developing and supporting the policies of the government because these should be made keeping in mind all the people, officials said. PTI KND TDS TDS