Sunita Tomar, face of the anti-tobacco campaign of health ministry, passed away in Mumbai, According to an Indian Express report, Sunita, 32, was admitted to Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital after doctors suspected cancer relapse. She had complained of breathing difficulty and weight loss.
Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, who had treated her the first time said, “She could barely walk. The weight loss could be because of a spread of the disease to other parts of the body. We suspect a relapse. The five-year survival chances are only 20 per cent.”
Sunita had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing her displeasure over BJP MP Dilip Gandhi’s statement that no Indian studies could link cancer to tobacco.
Sunita replaced Mukesh in the capmpaign in August. The video carried her personal testimony and shows Sunita before and after an operation to remove the cancerous growth and a part of her mouth.
Sunita is survived by her husband, a truck driver, her two sons.