Shaping Public Health: How Saraswati Dental College & Hospital’s TCC is Leading the Fight Against Tobacco Addiction
![k[]pk](https://aapkikhabar.com/static/c1e/client/86288/uploaded/3a61dc42705e0a3dd37a6452142d3982.jpg?width=963&height=540&resizemode=4)
Lucknow, May 2026: In a significant stride toward public health and community welfare, the Tobacco Cessation Centre (TCC) at Saraswati Dental College & Hospital has emerged as a beacon of hope, successfully guiding over 21,000 individuals in Lucknow away from tobacco addiction. This socially impactful initiative is fast becoming a blueprint for medical and dental institutions across Uttar Pradesh and the nation.
What began as a modest "Tobacco Intervention Initiative" by the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology in 2014 was formally scaled up into a full-fledged, dedicated Tobacco Cessation Centre in June 2018. Today, the centre offers a robust, end-to-end framework for patient identification, psychological counselling, preliminary screening, advanced diagnostics, and customized treatment plans.
A Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Approach to De-addiction
The success of the TCC lies in its holistic approach, which goes beyond standard medical prescriptions. According to the college administration, the centre integrates multiple therapeutic dimensions to help patients reclaim their health:
-
Advanced Diagnostics: The centre utilizes cutting-edge diagnostic tools, including Smokerlyzer testing, salivary and urine cotinine analysis, radiological imaging, and biopsies for the early detection of oral cancer and other tobacco-induced malignancies.
-
Holistic Therapy: Patients benefit from a structured combination of behavioral modification, psychological counseling, pharmacological support, and advanced interventions like laser therapy and surgical management when necessary.
Driving National Health Goals & Training Future Doctors
The TCC works in close alignment with the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP). It consistently runs public awareness campaigns, marking global milestones such as World No Tobacco Day and World Cancer Day through extensive community outreach activities.
Beyond patient care, the institution is playing a pivotal role in mentoring the next generation of healthcare providers. BDS students, interns, and postgraduate scholars receive specialized training at the centre, sensitizing them to public health challenges and equipping them to combat substance abuse in their future practices.
The Way Forward: Healthcare experts note that the highly effective operational framework developed by Saraswati Dental College & Hospital serves as an ideal model. If replicated in medical and dental colleges nationwide, it could significantly advance India's preventive healthcare mechanism against tobacco-related diseases.