RESUMEN
In Medellin, Colombia, a study was conducted on the relationship between smoking and the incidence of cancer. Data were also collected on the consumption of alcohol and coffee. Cases of cancer of the bladder, larynx, oral/hypopharyngeal cavity, and the lung were included, and controls were matched with the patients on the basis of sex, age, and socioeconomic status. Most of the tobacco smoked by the population studied was black tobacco. Verification of a strong correlation between the consumption of tobacco and cancer of these four sites confirms that smoking is a serious added health risk in the developing countries. It was confirmed that the habitual consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially those with a high alcohol content such as aquavite, increases the risk of developing cancers of the bladder, larynx, and oral/hypopharyngeal cavity. A correlation was observed between the consumption of coffe and cancers of the larynx and oral/hypopharyngeal cavity- an apparently new result that deserves to be investigated in greater depth. Research of this type is needed in the developing countries in order to have the information on which to base the adoption of anti-smoking measures