Shock rise in East End’s oral cancer from chewing tobacco

TOBACCO chewing is causing an alarming’ rise in cases of mouth cancer in East London, health chiefs warned today. Chewing pann, a mixture of tobacco and areca nut, is leading to a high number of patients in the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets being diagnosed

By Gemma Collins

TOBACCO chewing is causing an alarming’ rise in cases of mouth cancer in East London, health chiefs warned today (Thursday).

Chewing paan, a mixture of tobacco and areca nut, is leading to a high number of patients in the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets being diagnosed, experts at Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in Whitechapel have revealed.

Anand Lalli, a clinical lecturer in oral surgery, said: “In parts of south Asia where paan usage is widespread, oral cancer is one of the commonest causes of death from all cancers.

CAUGHT EARLY

“If oral cancer is caught early on, there is a good chance of curing it.

“But it becomes far less easy to treat the longer it is left.”

The findings emerged in a screening programme in the East End, led by Bart’s, when 1,300 people were tested for early signs of mouth cancer.

Most were from the Bengali community. One-in-15 people were referred for further investigation.