Is nothing sacred?
A top
Australian doctor has warned that kissing has overtaken smoking and
drinking to become the primary risk factor for developing head and neck
cancers.
But how can this
be?
Well Dr Mahiban
Thomas, who is head of maxillofacial and head and neck surgery at the Royal
Darwin hospital, warned that kissing (and just to be clear, we’re talking
about full-on snogging rather than a peck on the cheek) can pass on
HPV (human papilloma virus) – a family of viruses which can lead to
cancer.
In fact, Dr
Thomas explained that, according to studies coming out of America, around 70
per cent of head and neck cancers are due to HPV.
HPV’s link to
cancer is well known, but it is usually associated with cervical cancer. In the
UK, all girls aged 12-13 are offered a vaccine against it for this reason.
But why the
sudden rise?
Well, according
to Dr Thomas, this is due to changing attitudes.
He told NT News:
‘There is an attitude, particularly in our younger generations, that oral sex
is safe because you can’t get pregnant.
‘High-risk
behaviours are oral sex, multiple kissing partners, and more recently there are
reports even “petting” can lead to infection.
‘If someone has
kissed in excess of six people their risk of contracting HPV is higher, or if
someone has kissed in excess of nine people the risk is significantly higher
again.’
It really does
make for pretty grim reading.
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