Pipe, commercial and hand-rolled cigarette smoking in oesophageal cancer.

The relative risks of oesophageal cancer involved in the smoking of pipe, commercial and hand-rolled cigarettes were examined after adjustment for age, alcohol and total tobacco consumption. In contrast with what has been observed for lung and laryngeal cancer, pipe and hand-rolled cigarettes entail a risk of oesophageal cancer that is not inferior and probably greater than commercial cigarette smoking. This indicates that the mode of action of tobacco on the oesophagus may be related to the swallowing of smoke condensates.