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Posted on Aug 25, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
Individuals who regularly burn incense may be at an increased risk of going on to develop cancer of the respiratory tract, it has been claimed.
Individuals who regularly burn incense may be at an increased risk of going on to develop cancer of the respiratory tract, it has been claimed.
The new study, published in the October issue of CANCER - the journal of the American Cancer Society - is the first prospective investigation of incense and cancer risk, according to its authors.
In news that may be of interest to anti-aging physicians, incense typically is made from plant materials mixed with oils and when burnt produces a mixture of possible carcinogens, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, carbonyls and benzene, Eurekalert notes.
Dr Jeppe Friborg of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark and colleagues in Singapore and the US studies the effects on 61,320 people from Singapore who were free of cancer and aged 45 to 74 years of age.
Incense use was seen to add to the heightened risk of upper respiratory tract squamous cell carcinoma in smokers and "considerably increased" the risk in those who had never smoked.
"Given the widespread and sometimes involuntary exposure to smoke of burning incense, these findings carry significant public health implications," the authors wrote.
In related news, recent research has found that air pollution can damage the heart and lung vessels.
