The truth about incense

YEARS of breathing in smoke from the daily burning of incense at home could increase one's risk of respiratory tract cancers, a new study by Singapore scientists have found out.

Compared to those who do not light up joss sticks or coils of incense, those who do so over long hours for more than 40 years are 70 per cent more likely to contract cancers in the upper respiratory tract, said Associate Professor Koh Woon Puay at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

These include cancers of the nose or sinuses, tongue, mouth and windpipe.