Popular drinks that increase the risk of oral cancer

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There are many risk factors for developing oral cancer, including what you drink.

There are many risk factors for developing oral cancer, including what you drink. If a beverage is described as “carcinogenic,” it means that the beverage contains chemicals that can damage the DNA in cells. Accumulation of DNA damage can lead to all types of tumors, including oral cancer.

One popular carcinogenic beverage is alcohol, which can be found in wines, beers, spirits and liqueurs. 30 percent of people with the condition drink excessively. Heavy drinking in this context is defined as drinking more than 21 units of alcohol per week.

That's about seven large glasses of wine or 11 cans of medium-strength lager.

Alcohol “dries out the skin in your mouth and makes it more porous” and “is broken down by bacteria in your mouth to produce cancer-causing chemicals.”

Combining alcohol with smoking increases the risk of oral cancer by about 30 times. This is because alcohol affects the skin of the mouth, allowing tobacco toxins to pass through more easily. And tobacco smoke “contains formaldehyde, a toxic chemical similar to acetaldehyde, which is formed when alcohol breaks down.”

Oral cancer

The tumor can develop on the surface of the tongue, inside the cheeks, roof of the mouth, lips, or gums. Tumors can also develop in the salivary glands, tonsils, or trachea. Symptoms of oral cancer may include: Painful mouth sores that do not heal within several weeks Unexplained persistent lumps in the mouth or neck that do not go away Unexplained looseness of teeth or sockets that do not heal after extraction Unexplained persistent numbness or strange sensation in the lip or tongue Sometimes white or red patches on the lining of the mouth or tongue Changes in speech, such as a lisp