by Eveline Gan Research has found that smoking and alcohol consumption are two of the top causes of oral cancer, which forms about half of all head and neck cancer diagnoses. According to Assistant Professor Victor Fan, your risk of oral cancer is six times higher than an average person if you smoke heavily, and up to 24 times higher if you smoke and consume more than 30 glasses of alcohol per week. Other risk factors may be linked to heavy consumption of preserved foods such as salted fish, and viral causes such as human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and Epstein-Barr virus. The chewing of betel nuts - which contains nicotine - may also increase the risk of cancer. http://www.todayonline.com/Health/EDC090901-0000049/Quit-smoking,-drinking-,,...