ORAL sex increases your risk of getting throat cancer, experts warned last night.
They said that it can pass on the human papilloma virus, which also triggers cervical cancer in women. And they claim oral sex is an even BIGGER cause of throat cancer — which kills 1,700 people a year — than smoking or drinking.
A study found men and women who had oral sex with more than six people in their lifetimes were 8.6 times more likely to develop the disease.
But smokers were only three times more likely to get it and drinkers were just two-and-a-half times more at risk.
The researchers compared 100 men and women with throat cancer to 200 healthy people, taking into account their sex lives.
They found that having oral sex does not always mean you get the HPV virus. But those who do catch it are 32 times more likely to develop throat cancer, which also affects the tonsils and the back of the tongue.
Surprisingly, people who already have HPV do not boost their risk of throat cancer if they also smoke or drink.
Until now, experts thought cigarettes and booze were the biggest causes.
[source via A Socialite’s Life]