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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