Keeping chewing tobacco in the cheek pouch overnight (night quid) increases risk of cheek carcinoma

Chewing Chewable Indian Tobacco (CIT) is a popular addiction in India. Some of the addicts keep the bolus of chewed tobacco tucked in the gingivo-labial sulcus (cheek pouch) overnight. This is known as the habit of the night quid. To assess the influence of night quid on the development of oral cancer we carried out this case control observational study in the Out Patient Department of Surgery, Sir Sunder Lal Hospital, Varanasi, India. A total of 105 consecutive oral cancer patients (epidermoid carcinoma) and 71 sex- and age-matched CIT addicts of the same duration of addiction were investigated for the habit of the night quid. The habit increased the risk of development of cheek carcinoma significantly at Oddʹs Ratio of 12.5. Simply giving up the habit of night quid could help in the reduction of oral cancer in CIT addicts.