6 other ways that tobacco increases your risk of cancer

Smokeless tobacco is tobacco that is chewed or sucked in the mouth or inhaled through the nose. There are many types of smokeless tobacco.

• Chewing tobacco is a leafy tobacco placed between the cheek and gums.
• Snuff is finely ground tobacco that is either dry or moist. Dry snuff is sniffed through the nose. Moist snuff is placed in the mouth between the gums and cheek.

What are the risks?

Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine, which makes it addictive. It also contains at least 28 chemicals that can cause cancer. Using smokeless tobacco can lead to:

• oral cancer (lip, tongue and cheek, and on the floor and roof of the mouth)
• esophageal cancer
• pancreatic cancer

Cigars and cigarillos (short, narrow cigars) are rolls of tobacco wrapped in tobacco leaf paper. They come in different sizes but often contain much more tobacco and nicotine than cigarettes do.

What are the risks?

Smoking cigars increases your risk of:

• oral cancer (mouth and throat)
• laryngeal cancer
• lung cancer
• esophageal cancer
• pancreatic cancer

And the second-hand smoke from cigars increases health risks to people who don’t smoke too.

Bidis are small cigarette-like products that are made by hand-rolling tobacco in a dried leaf. They are popular in Indian and other Southeast Asian cultures, and they are usually flavoured.

 What are the risks?

Studies have linked bidi smoking with an increased risk of developing oral, lung, stomach and esophageal cancer. Bidis contain nicotine, which makes them addictive. The flavouring doesn’t make them any less harmful.

Kreteks are a type of flavoured cigarette made with tobacco, cloves and other ingredients. They are originally from Indonesia.

What are the risks?

Kreteks have not been studied as much as regular cigarettes – but similar to cigarettes, kreteks contain nicotine and smoking them has been shown to damage the lungs. The flavouring doesn’t make them any less harmful.

A pipe is a narrow tube – made from wood, clay or other materials – with a bowl at one end to hold burning tobacco and a mouthpiece at the other to inhale the smoke.

What are the risks?

Pipe tobacco contains many of the same chemicals as cigarette smoke, including nicotine. And like smoking cigarettes, it’s addictive. People who smoke pipe tobacco are also at a higher risk for cancer of the lip if they suck on the pipe stem when not smoking. Smoking a pipe may also increase the risk of developing:

• head and neck cancers
• esophageal cancer
• lung cancer
• colorectal cancer
• pancreatic cancer
• bladder cancer

In a hookah (also known as a water pipe or shisha), tobacco that is typically flavoured is heated and the smoke is passed through water before it’s inhaled through a tube. More people, especially younger people, have been using hookahs in recent years.

What are the risks?

Smoke from water pipes contains cancer-causing substances and nicotine. And people who use water pipes usually inhale larger amounts of smoke than people who smoke cigarettes do. Smoking a water pipe can be addictive and may increase your risk of developing:

• lung cancer
• esophageal cancer
• head and neck cancers