Incense

Incense! Ah, I can still smell the sweet fragrance from my old college dorm hallways. There were two guys that were always burning incense - behind closed and locked doors. But even though I knew why it was burning, I did enjoy the smell. Perhaps the memory of college life is what causes me to remember fondly the aroma wafting in the hallways.

But incense is not so much a part of life now. I'm not around a lot of people who use it. But I do know that some smokers will burn it in their homes to help cover up the smell of the cigarette smoke. Is that a good idea though? I mean, they already have a ton of smoke, why add to it. Well, researchers were curious about the same thing and published their findings in Environmental Health Perspectives. They wondered if burning incense would increase the risk for lung cancer.

Burning incense is known to have a large amount of pollutants, of which some are known or suspected to cause lung cancer. Okay, so what do you think they found? Well, the burning incense at home didn't increase the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers, but it did increase the risk in smokers. In fact, they describe the relationship as a synergistic one. To complicate this effect, the researchers also discovered that if radon was present in the home, along with the incense burning and cigarette smoking, the risk was even higher.

So what is the take home message? 1) Stop smoking, then you won't need the incense. 2) If you continue to smoke, at least stop burning the incense. 3) If you won't stop smoking or burning incense, then move to a house that doesn't have radon. But if you're going to go to all the trouble, you might as well just stop smoking, it will be easier and cheaper in the long run.