Do you smoke a lot? Besides the link between smoking and heart disease, cancer and stroke, smoking also causes various oral health problems like bad breath and tooth discoloration, including oral cancer.
It is quite scary to think that almost 31,000 people every year are diagnosed with oral cancers and that almost 90% of these are tobacco users. Oral cancer affects the tongue, lips, throat, larynx as well as various parts of the nose.
Tobacco use and oral cancer
Tobacco is the most common cause for oral cancers. Smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco and dipping snuff greatly increase the risk of oral cancer. Almost all forms of tobacco increase the risk of oral cancer.
Smokers who have used tobacco for a long time are at the highest risk of developing oral cancer. If you are guilty of using tobacco a lot, stop now to prevent oral cancer.
Excess alcohol consumption
In addition to regular tobacco use, consuming excess amounts of alcohol is also very dangerous for your oral health. It is estimated that almost 75% to 80% of people diagnosed with oral cancer consume alcohol frequently.
Other than alcohol and tobacco, there are a few other factors that can put you at risk of oral cancer, including a personal history of neck and head cancer, poor nutrition, extreme exposure to UV radiation and also viral infections.
