Archive · 28 Dec 2025
Alcohol and tobacco fuel India's mouth cancer crisis
India is facing a big problem with mouth cancer, especially a type called buccal mucosa cancer.
This cancer is mostly found in people who drink alcohol and use smokeless tobacco like gutkha and paan.
Even a little bit of alcohol can make the risk of cancer go up.
The study found that locally made alcohol is even more dangerous than regular alcohol.
The cancer is affecting younger people too, and many of them don't survive for more than five years.
The best way to fight this cancer is to stop drinking alcohol and using tobacco.
The government needs to make rules to control the production of alcohol and tobacco to help prevent this disease.
More than 60% of buccal mucosa cancer cases in India are linked to alcohol and smokeless tobacco use.
Even minimal alcohol intake increases the risk of mouth cancer, with a 50% rise at around 9 grams per day.
Locally brewed alcohol poses a higher cancer risk (87%) compared to internationally recognized alcohols (72%).
Mouth cancer is the second most common malignancy in India, with nearly 1.43 lakh new cases annually, and it is affecting younger populations.
Survival rates for buccal mucosa cancer are low, with only 43% of patients surviving beyond five years.
- Who
- Indian population, particularly those consuming alcohol and smokeless tobacco
- What
- Rising cases of mouth cancer, specifically buccal mucosa cancer
- When
- Currently and over the past years, with increasing incidence rates
- Where
- Across India, with higher prevalence in states like Meghalaya, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh
- Why
- Due to the combined effects of alcohol consumption and smokeless tobacco use, which increase the risk of cancer
- Alcohol and smokeless tobacco
- Linked to 62% of buccal mucosa cancer cases
- Minimal alcohol intake
- Increases cancer risk, even less than 2 grams per day
- Locally brewed alcohol
- Increases cancer risk by 87%
- Mouth cancer in India
- Second most common malignancy, 1.43 lakh new cases annually
- Age group affected
- Nearly half of patients are between 25 and 45 years old
- Survival rate
- 43% of patients survive beyond five years
- Regional hotspots
- Higher prevalence in Meghalaya, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh
- Incidence rate
- 15 cases per 100,000 Indian men