Know the risks

A new nationwide survey in aid of Mouth Cancer Action Month has found that too many of us remain unaware of the major causes of mouth cancer including; smoking, excess alcohol consumption, poor diet, oral sex and kissing.

This follows new findings from Cancer Research UK showing that mouth cancer is becoming an increasingly common problem in Britain.

One of the most disturbing findings from the poll was that one in five people asked did not know that smoking causes mouth cancer. In actual fact, smoking, and other tobacco use, is the leading cause of mouth cancer, accounting for roughly two in every three cases.

Smokers are three times more likely than non-smokers to develop mouth cancer as the chemicals transform saliva into a deadly cocktail that damages cells in the mouth and can turn them cancerous.

Nigel Carter OBE, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, the campaign organisers, said of the study: “These results are particularly concerning and demonstrate how little is known about mouth cancer. Cases of mouth cancer have increased by more than a third in the last decade alone, which means it is becoming increasingly important that we know what to look out for so that we can take the necessary measures to protect ourselves against it.