Source: www.thehealthsite.com
Author: Sreemoyee Chatterjee

Not just cigarette smokers, those smoking e-cigarettes as well as consuming smokeless tobacco like chewing tobacco and more are at greater risk of developing oral cancer, shows a recent study conducted by University of California.

In case you think only cigarette smokers are at a higher risk of getting oral cancer, you are widely mistaken. A recent study has found that a wide majority of non-cigarette tobacco users as well those using electronic cigarettes are exposed to considerable level of carcinogen, as much as a cigarette user is exposed to. Not just that, shockingly smokeless tobacco users were found at a greater exposure to tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA). The study has been conducted by the scholars from University of California, San Francisco.

Starting from cigarettes to cigar, waterpipes, pipes, marijuana containing cigar to smokeless products like moist snuff, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, snus and other nicotine replacement products can increase your chance of getting oral cancer, revealed the study.

What is Oral cancer?
Belonging to the head and neck cancer group, oral cancer is a type of cancer that grows in mouth or throat tissues and mostly hit the squamous cells of your mouth, tongue and lips. Oral cancer can of several types – lip cancer, tongue cancer, cancer in the inner lining of your cheek, gums, floor of the mouth and hard and soft palate. It is important to go to a dentist for a biannual check-up for early detection of oral cancer, experts say. Due to lack of awareness and adequate check-ups, oral cancer gets detected only after they spread to the lymph nodes of the neck.

The other risk factors
Apart from tobacco consumption, both smoke and smokeless and excessive alcohol consumption, there are several other risk factors that can put you to greater risk of developing oral cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, chronic facial exposure to sun, a former diagnosis of oral cancer, a family history of oral or any other types of cancer, a depleted body immune system, inadequate nutrition, genetic syndromes are other risk factors for oral cancer. Shockingly, being male is another potent risk factor as studies have found males to be at a higher risk of developing oral cancer, twice as likely compared to women.