Tobacco and Oral (mouth) cancer

Nov 25, 2020
2 min read

Tobacco use is one of the main reasons for oral or mouth cancer. There is research indicating that about 53,000 people (approx) in the United States fight with oral or oropharyngeal cancer every year. The sad part is of death rate which is over 9,750 deaths, roughly means the death of one person every hour.

Similarly, if we add cancer of the larynx in the above equation, the number of cases would also grow to about 54,000 individuals and accordingly the death rate would be 13,500 annually in the only U.S.

World without Tobacco

Let's take a minute to imagine a world without tobacco. Without exaggeration, 50% of all cancers that we see would not be there. More than 50% of all cancers that present and more than 50 % of all cancer deaths are due to tobacco. So in that case we would have so many lives saved and so many patients living healthier lives.

Just think about the ill effects of tobacco. We would have diminished incidents of cardiovascular disease and stroke which is cerebrovascular disease. We would have diminished incidents of peripheral vascular disease which happens when people smoke and the arteries to the limbs get constricted and patients present with gangrene and lost their limbs.

What is to stress is that tobacco can produce harm in every single form that it exists. Whether it is chewing tobacco, smoke tobacco, snuff tobacco, or any other form of tobacco intake. Tobacco chewing on its own is entirely responsible for the highest incidents of mouth cancer. So when you next pick up a cigarette or when you next pick up that little packet of tobacco or any such thing, think again. You are harming yourself and your family by inviting disease, by inviting death.

Nanny survived at age of 27

Nanny is just 27 but she's already survived oral cancer. She's using social media now to share what she's been through. Nanny knows the risks all too well as at the age of 27 she's already survived oral cancer. She says, it started with a sore on her tongue likely caused by the nine years of using chewing tobacco. Nanny went to a dentist and got this shocking news. She progressed quickly from there and she was checked out.

She also supports the law of increasing the age to buy tobacco products to 21. She thinks one might make better choices at 21 than 18. There’s no benefit to leaving it at 18.

Nanny’s Advice

Nanny wants to back users to remember their choices can negatively impact others as well. It is the entire family that has to pay the consequence of that. She considers herself lucky to be one of those lucky ones that survive from the hands of death. Nanny can’t imagine how much worse it could have been. She has quit tobacco and plans to eventually start a family hoping her future children won't follow in her footsteps.