Candy-coated cancer. (International).Gutkha, a smokeless tobacco smokeless tobacco, n chewing tobacco (leaves) or tobacco powder (snuff) that allows the nicotine to be absorbed through the mucous membrane of the oral cavity or digestive tract. It is related to a high risk of oral cancer. that's as portable as chewing gum chewing gum, confection consisting usually of chicle, flavorings, and corn syrup and sugar (or artificial sweeteners). Prehistoric people are believed to have chewed resins. and as sweet as candy, has become extremely popular in India--even with kids as young as 6. The problem? Doctors say it's leading to an epidemic of oral cancer. About 30 percent of cancers in India are in the head and neck (including mouth ulcers mouth ulcer Oral ulcer, stomatitis, see there and cheek tumors), compared with just 4.5 percent in the West. Gutkha sales skyrocketed in the 1990s into what is now a booming billion-dollar-a-year business. A 1998 survey of boys ages 13 to 15 found that 20 percent used three to five packs of gutkha a day. Not surprising considering that gutkha marketing campaigns have made its use seem glamorous glam·or·ous also glam·our·ous adj. Full of or characterized by glamour. glam  or·ous·ly adv. and socially acceptable for teens. What's more, it's cheap, can be chewed anywhere, and is easy to hide from parents. "What caused this boom of oral cancers was this packaging of tobacco," says Dr. A. K. D'Cruz, a head-and-neck surgeon in Bombay. "Convenience got them hooked."
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