Wherever there's smoke, there's Dr Rohan Bartake

Dr Rohan Bartake seen counselling cops at the Byculla police station on the hazards of smoking

There's a universally known fact, which Dr Rohan Bartake swears by when treating patients - it's easier to convince a non-smoker against picking up a cigarette than getting a smoker to kick the habit.

"Research has shown that of the 70 per cent people who want to quit smoking, only six per cent succeed in doing so," says the 34-year-old doctor, who works as the coordinator for the community health and comprehensive care at Sion's Asian Cancer Institute (ACI).

After coming across scores of people suffering from oral cancer because of tobacco consumption and meeting with smokers desperate to lead a nicotine-free life, Bartake quit private practice and has made smoke cessation his life's goal.

Interestingly, Bartake happens to be the only doctor in the city pursuing a full-time job as a smoke nazi. "I go to schools, colleges, police stations and corporate offices to counsel people on how they can give up smoking," he says.

To date, Bartake has counselled over 2,500 patients with a 57 per cent success rate. A person is declared tobacco-free only after six months. "In those six months, people tend to go back to smoking because they feel it relieves stress or, sometimes, the withdrawal symptoms scare them," says Bartake, who has an MBA in social entrepreneurship from NMIMS, Vile Parle.

What prompted Bartake to take up this job was the lack of awareness on the hazards of tobacco addiction. "Tobacco is one of the most addictive substances in the world. So, I realised that there was a need for mass-level awareness to prevent the incidence of tobacco addiction," says Bartake, whose patients range from teens to senior citizens.

The questions that Bartake gets asked vary from, "What kind of activities should I engage in if I feel the urge to smoke?" to "Is it okay if I smoke a hookah, instead?" Hookah, he says, is far more dangerous. "While cigarette smoking lasts five minutes, hookah smoking goes on for a good 20-40 minutes. Anything that has tobacco or nicotine is dangerous," he says.

Bartake's line of treatment depends on what stage of addiction his patient is in. "Eighty per cent of my job involves counselling people with a tobacco addiction, 15 per cent involves nicotine replacement therapy (a medically-approved way to take nicotine by means other than tobacco) and five per cent is medication," says Bartake, who also conducts free camps to tackle the probem.

Currently, there are only 19 tobacco cessation centres in the country, which, Bartake says, is deplorable. "There's hardly any research done in this field despite the widespread problem."

Bartake feels there's a need to amend laws on smoking. In 2008, the state prohibited smoking in public places. There's also a prohibition on advertisements of tobacco products. "When celebrities endorse tobacco brands, even in the form of a mineral water label, it makes an impact on impressionable minds. There are several loopholes that need to be filled," he says.