Kissing now the leading cause of head and neck cancer?

Move over smoking…according to a leading Australian doctor kissing is now the leading risk factor for head and neck cancers.

What?

Dr Mahiban Thomas, who is head of maxillofacial and head and neck surgery at the Royal Darwin hospital, said that the human papilloma virus (HPV) can be passed on via French kissing.

According to Thomas approximately 70 per cent of head and neck cancers in the US are caused by HPV.

The doctor told to Daily Mail Australia that if you became infected by HPV in the oropharynx, your chances of developing head and neck cancers were 250 times higher than someone who wasn’t infected with HPV.
The oropharynx is the part of the throat at the back of the mouth behind the oral cavity; this area includes the back third of the tongue, the soft palate, the side and back walls of the throat, and the tonsils.

Thomas blames today’s attitudes towards kissing and oral sex for the rise in cases of HPV infections.

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,” said the doctor.

Oh dear.

loopjamaica