Smokeless tobacco, also called areca nut, has been attributed to an increased risk of developing oral cancer in a study published in The Lancet Oncology.

An estimated 120,200 cases of oral cancer diagnosed in 2022 globally have been linked to smokeless tobacco or areca nut consumption. According to the study, this accounts for over 30 per cent of all oral cancer cases.

The study used the rates of current use of smokeless tobacco or areca nut products from national surveys with the risks of oral cancer to estimate the number of oral cancer cases likely due to smokeless tobacco or areca nut.

The results

The study found that an estimated 77 per cent of all oral cancer cases were among male patients and 23 per cent among female patients. Also, over 95 per cent of oral cancer cases attributable to smokeless tobacco or areca nut were in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

The regions with the highest proportion of oral cancers likely due to smokeless tobacco or areca nut were Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, southcentral Asia, and southeastern Asia.

The countries with the higher proportion of oral cancer cases likely due to smokeless tobacco or areca nut in women were Papua New Guinea (84 per cent of cases), India (52 per cent) and Myanmar (51 per cent).

The study’s authors said that, despite the encouraging trends in tobacco smoking control in many regions of the world over the past 20 years, progress in reducing the prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption has stalled in many countries. They also observed that there are very few areca nut control policies worldwide, so a vast global population has access to it.

The researchers have called for the development and reinforcement of policies to reduce smokeless tobacco and areca nut use.

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