Have you ever heard the saying that kissing a smoker can be almost like kissing an ashtray? Smoking leaves an unpleasant smell that lingers in the mouth and breath of smokers. Furthermore, the substances in tobacco smoke damages your teeth and gums. You may end up looking like just this. 

 If his teeth can look that bad, 
just imagine how his lungs look like? 

This is no joke. The true danger behind smoking is that it also increases the risk of mouth cancer involving the lips, tongue and nose. Mouth cancer makes up 2 to 4% of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S., with over 30,000 new cases reported each year. 

Did you also know that, 

• Smokers are more than six times more likely to die from different mouth-related cancers 

• Using chewing tobacco increases the risks of mouth and throat cancers

• Mouth-related cancer causes symptoms such as 

  • Difficulty in breathing, swallowing or speaking

  • Nosebleeds that can lead to significant loss of blood volume

  • Painful ringing in ear

  • Frequent headaches

• The cancer can spread rapidly to other parts of the body such as 

  • Lungs

  • Bones

  • Brain

  • Liver

• The chance of recurrence even after early surgery is very high

At this point of time, there is still no complete cure for cancer. If you have mouth-related cancer, your prognosis is extremely poor, with only a 55% 5-year survival rate, a figure persistent for over 30 years. 

About 8,000 Americans die from mouth cancers each year, while thousands of others put up with painful and expensive treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and long term medication which does little but delay their prognosis.

The best way to prevent mouth-related cancer is not to smoke at all. For smokers, that means to quit smoking. Just one simple action of kicking the habit can save you from the chronic pain and torment of mouth-related cancers.

**References
Go Smoke Free!
Mouth-Cancer-Symptoms.Com