chewing tobacco

Are men's cancers more aggressive, or is it that habits such as smoking and chewing tobacco drag down their outcomes?

"In Barak Valley in Assam, it's mostly chewing tobacco; just 25km away in Mizoram, smoking dominates. Add to that alcohol, areca nuts, and even how meat is prepared. Food choices and preparation drive cancer risk. There's no special cancer-causing gene at play - hereditary cancers aren't more common here than in other parts of India," Dr Kannan said.

Although chewing tobacco was used in an attempt to sedate the animals - by rubbing it into their gums - in 1941 a bull being ferried for the Department of Agriculture became agitated and put its hoof through the hull.

Chewing tobacco is linked to mouth cancer, gum disease and tooth loss.

“People can be reluctant to move into an oral tobacco product if they view it as similar to traditional chewing tobacco,” company spokesman Corey Henry said.