Mouth cancer lifestyle link

Cancer Research UK said that nine out of ten mouth cancer cases are caused by lifestyle factors.

Of these factors, 65 per cent of them are linked to smoking, with 30 per cent linked to drinking alcohol and another 13 per cent linked to infections including the Human Papillomavirus. Some of the cases have been linked to more than one contributing factor.

Although smoking rates have fallen recently, they were high in the 50s and 60s, which is contributing to the increase in oral cancer rates seen now.

Drinking rates have also been historically high, fuelling the rise, Cancer Research UK said.