Tobacco has been variously hailed as a gift from the gods, a miraculous cure-all for lifes physical ills, a solace to the lonely soldier or sailor, a filthy habit, a corrupting addiction, and the greatest disease-producing product known to man. Tobacco in any form is a major independent risk factor for the development of oral and pharyngeal cancer and other malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract. Tobacco contains several distinct compounds, some of which are capable of inducing mutagenesis, and facilitate tumorigenesis. It is believed that they exert their action by damaging the DNA...