Pages 248-249 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):248-249
WWAMI School of Medical Education, University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK, USA
Graduate Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Source
Pages 248-249 in N. Murphy and A. Parkinson, eds. Circumpolar Health 2012: Circumpolar Health Comes Full Circle. Proceedings of the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, August 5-10, 2012. International Journal of Circumpolar Health 2013;72 (Suppl 1):248-249
Use of smokeless tobacco (SLT) has been identified as a risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The percentage of Alaska Native peoples who use SLT is more than 5 times that of non-Alaska Natives. The high rate of SLT use among Alaska Native peoples most likely contributes to the
significantly higher rates of head and neck cancer seen in this population. The use of SLT is concentrated in Southwest Alaska where more than 20% of all adult Alaska Native peoples use SLT with nearly 50% of this population using iqmik.