During the last few years many investigators have studied the effects of smoking on mucous membranes. Most of these studies have been directed towards the effects of tobacco smoke on the pulmonary system. The oral mucosa has been the subject of relatively few clinical, histologic and statistical investigations, and the conclusions of these studies have been somewhat controversial. Burket (1) found no convincing evidence that tobacco smoke directly stimulates the development of cancer. Furthermore, he emphasized that cigars should be considered the most dangerous variety of smoking today, as clay pipes are no longer used. Lewis (2) stated that susceptible persons should not smoke excessively because of the possibility of leukoplakic or malignant change. Levin and coworkers (3) stressed the significance of occupational factors. They found a double incidence of malignant lesions in connection with the so-called significant occupations, such as construction work, and work involving excessive heat and dust, especially silica dust. Ryan and associates (4) came to the conclusion that further studies are necessary both to determine the role played by different irritants and to evaluate the significance of tobacco smoke as a causative agent or as a contributory factor. Several authors (5) have studied the development and specific localization of cancer of the mucous membranes in relation to the type of smoking. The conclusions were: 1) in the development of the cancer of the lip, pipe smoking and chewing are the most significant forms of tobacco usage, 2) cigar and cigarette smoking are more significant in the etiology of cancer of the larynx and the pharynx, and 3) chewing plays a leading role in the etiology of cancer of the gingiva.We began our studies several years ago (6, 7) and were well aware of the numerous other factors which should be taken into account. Some of these factors include traceable exposure to physical, chemical, galvano-electrical, domestic or occupational hazards, inherited tendencies, and other associated states or diseases. There are no satisfactory comparative studies that offer proper interpretation for the over-all clinical, experimental and statistical picture (8-1 1).