Former Goa Chief Minister sought to know in the state Assembly on 2nd August whether consumption of local alcoholic beverages 'feni' and 'hurrack' causes cancer.

Speaking during the Question Hour on the issue of cancer cases in the state, he said the state government should conduct a survey to know if these drinks cause cancer. "Do you have a study on the kind of cancers that are faced by people in Goa?  Have you conducted a study on it," he asked Health minister. "It is a well-known fact that smoking causes cancer.

But we also have to know whether drinking local alcoholic brew like 'feni' and 'hurrack' can cause cancer?  A survey should be conducted and its findings be placed in the House," he said. In his reply, the health minister said the government has statistics about the types of cancer. "Maximum cases in the state are that of breast cancer, followed by head and neck and other types," he said.

He was speaking on the question asked by Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco over the number of cancer cases in Goa. He said lifestyle is one of the reasons behind the increasing number of cancer cases in the state. He said the government was serious about the cancer cases in the state and facilities are being created for the treatment of cancer patients in the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). According to him, although cancer is on the rise, nobody is able to tell the exact reason behind it. "With innovation and technology, we are able to detect cases of cancer more as compared to the past," he said.

"In Goa, lifestyle plays an important role. It is not whether a person is a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian. There are several issues related to lifestyle, which are creating problems. Along with other diseases, cancer is also coming to the forefront," he said. The minister said the GMCH has started an out-patient department (OPD) for cancer patients and the process has been initiated to appoint an oncologist.

"Around 1,000 cancer cases were detected in the last one year. We re-started the cancer registry from September 2018 so that we can have a database," he said.