Study finds sugary soft drinks linked to rising oral cancer rates in women

21 March 2025

FoodIngredients presented a study from the University of Washington that examined the link between sugary drinks and mouth cancer in women, including women who smoke and women who don’t. It found that those who drank at least one sugary drink a day had almost five times higher chances of developing mouth cancer compared to those who rarely drank them.

Mouth cancer includes tumours in the mouth, lips, gums, tongue, and cheeks.

For women who don’t smoke the risk of mouth cancer was 5.46 times higher if they drank one or more sugary drinks daily, compared to less than one a month.

The study showed that high sugary drink intake increased the risk of mouth cancer in women, even if they didn’t smoke. Mouth cancer is less common than breast or colon cancer, with about 4–4.3 cases per 100,000 people each year but it is becoming more common in women who don’t smoke or drink.

This study suggests that sugary drinks can be another risk factor for mouth cancer but more studies are needed, including on men, to confirm these findings.