India has the highest number of oral cancer cases among countries in South Asia, driven by increased use of smokeless tobacco products like betel quid with tobacco, gutka, khaini; and areca nut, according to a study on Wednesday. 

The study led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and published in The Lancet Oncology journal showed that India logged 83,400 of the 120,200 oral cancer cases globally caused by smokeless tobacco (chewed, sucked, inhaled, applied locally, or ingested) and areca nut (seed of the areca palm) in 2022.