Tobacco Smoking | American Oral Cancer Foundation

How To Protect Yourself From Cancer

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The word cancer is something that many people fear. There is good reason for this fear. There are many different types of cancers and, if not caught at the early stages, can be difficult to fight. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help protect yourself.

1. Eat Wisely. By eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, you are giving your body what it needs to function at its best. Drinking lots of fresh water will help to remove the toxins from your body. Water also helps to prevent these toxins from building up. Try to limit your intake of beef. Instead eat lean cuts of beef if you must eat it. It is best to eat more chicken and turkey, instead, as these are leaner meats.

2. Exercise. It is important to exercise at least a few times a week. Most people, no matter what their physical health is like, can engage in some form of exercise. A walk around the block is a great start if you are overweight and very out of shape. Swimming is a great form of exercise that is gentle enough for even people with joint problems to be able to do.

3. Curb Your Vices. Cigarette smoking, excessive drinking and overeating are not just bad habits. They can have serious consequences to your health. While having a glass of wine or a beer occasionally will likely not harm you, drinking to excess on a regular basis can lead to cancers such as liver cancer and oral cancer. Cigarette smoking has been shown to be the number one cause of oral cancer as well as lung cancer. It is in your best interest to stop smoking today. Overeating can lead to a greater risk of colon cancer as well as a number of other types of cancer.

Filed Under: Health Tips, Oral Cancer Tagged With: Cancer, Health, Tobacco smoking

Chewing Tobacco and Oral Cancer

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One of cancer’s most terrifying aspects is its ability to occur almost anywhere in the body, with various degrees of severity. Some cancers are always terminal, while others can be dealt with or even eliminated using the proper treatment. One thing is sure; no one who hears they have cancer is happy about it.

Cancer has various causes, some avoidable and some not. In the case of heredity, one can do little other than hope for the best. Some cancers are a consequence of bad habits, decisions or environments, and those can be avoided with proper care. Oral cancer is one cancer that is particularly dependent upon the choices people make.

Most people know that smoking substantially increases the chances of lung cancer, as does the sustained intake of second-hand smoke. Chewing tobacco has its own risks and in some ways these are even worse. Chewing tobacco is more dangerous than cigarettes because the delivery is more direct and the substance may be even more addictive. People who chew tobacco are at a very high risk of developing an oral cancer such as cancer of the gums. Despite this and the way chewing tobacco stains the teeth and the spitting and bad breath that accompanies the habit, it’s a wonder people continue to chew. Perhaps they are just not aware of the dangers involved.

The media used to glamorize cigarette smoking and to a much more cautious and regulated extent it still does — but it’s hard to make chewing tobacco seem cool. Nonetheless, it’s still around, perhaps because people who are already hooked can’t kick the habit. Just like with cigarettes, giving up tobacco is no small feat. Tobacco addiction may require the same kind of support that alcohol rehab provides for the alcoholic. Still, it’s worth going through to avoid the risk of cancer from tobacco addiction.

Filed Under: Health Tips, Oral Cancer Tagged With: Chewing tobacco, Tobacco, Tobacco smoking

Second Hand Smoke and Cancer

Imagine yourself working in a small town. Your office also doubles as the break room, which means that everyone spends their smoking breaks just a few feet from you. It’s the norm in a little country town, so no one thinks anything of it and simply gossips about the day and local town happenings. But you could be setting yourself up for lung cancer, oral cancer just from this small town office break room.

That is, until you discover you have lung cancer – lung cancer, and you haven’t smoked a day in your entire life. The only exposure you’ve had to anything that could cause such a tragic diagnosis is the 15 years you worked for the public office in that small town, inhaling second hand smoke.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), second hand smoke is “is the combination of sidestream smoke (the smoke given off by the burning end of a tobacco product) and mainstream smoke (the smoke exhaled by the smoker).” Other names for second hand smoke include involuntary smoking and passive smoking – how appropriate.

NCI states that there are more than 4,000 chemicals in second hand smoke, of which 250 are certainly harmful, with 50 of them linked directly to cancer. While the chemicals found in smoke vary depending on the type of tobacco, the way the manufacturer puts the product together and how users smoke the product, there is no doubt that it is harmful to those unwillingly exposed to it.

Included in those 50 lethal chemicals found in second hand smoke are arsenic, beryllium, chromium and nickel – all types of metal. Benzene, a chemical in gasoline, is also found in second hand smoke, as well as ethylene oxide, a chemical used in the sterilization of medical devices; polonium-210, which is radioactive; and vinyl chloride used in plastics manufacturing. What a scary thought – that these things infiltrate your system through second hand smoke.

The National Cancer Institute states that approximately 3,000 deaths occur each year from cancer as a result of exposure only to second hand smoke. Daily exposure to a smoker results in a 20 to 30 percent increased risk for lung cancer. Those numbers simply cannot be ignored. You can lower your risk of lung cancer and oral cancer if you take preventative measures now.

Filed Under: General, Health Tips Tagged With: Lung cancer, National Cancer Institute, Tobacco smoking

How To Protect Yourself From Cancer

Chewing Tobacco and Oral Cancer

Second Hand Smoke and Cancer

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