Oral sex is causing an “epidemic” of throat cancer, making it more common than cervical cancer in the UK and US. Oropharyngeal cancer, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), affects the tonsils and back of the throat and is caused by over 100 different types. Dr. Hisham Mehanna from the UK’s University of Birmingham said people with multiple oral sex partners were more than eight times more likely to develop the cancer.

In the UK, 80% of adults reported practicing oral sex at some point in their lives. Around 8,300 people are diagnosed with throat cancer each year in the UK, which is about 1 in every 50 cancers caught. HPV is a common virus spread through vaginal, anal, and oral sex with someone who is already infected. There is a vaccine, which is more than 80% effective and widely available. In 2013, Hollywood actor Michael Douglas revealed that his cancer was caused by oral sex.