Assessment of carcinogenic and toxic substances in ‘Insunko’ herb

Kalubula, Maybin; Shen, Heqing; Khanam, Tasawar

doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.03.003

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In Zambia, tobacco powder is widely used for sni ng while females also use it for vaginal tightening and warm during sexual intercourse, thus increasing the sexual pleasure of the male partner (11). Genital tobacco powder use is gaining popularity in some African countries including Senegal and Nigeria (11).…”

Section: Background Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Genital tobacco powder locally known as "tabaa" in The Gambia is a combination of powdered tobacco, caustic soda, and other ingredients which women use vaginally for sexual enhancement (The Fatu Network, 2020). In Zambia, tobacco powder is widely used for sni ng while females also use it for vaginal tightening and warm during sexual intercourse, thus increasing the sexual pleasure of the male partner (11). Genital tobacco powder use is gaining popularity in some African countries including Senegal and Nigeria (11).…”

Section: Background Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence and Factors Associated with Genital Tobacco Powder Use Among Women in the Gambia: A Mixed Study

Jaiteh

Awolude

Bah

2022

Preprint

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Background:Genital tobacco powder, locally known as "tabaa," is a mixture of powdered tobacco and other substances that women use vaginally for sexual enhancement. Through a media report, the Ministry of Health issued a warning for women to stop the practice. However, literature search showed that no any scientific study documenting the burden of this cultural practice beyond media reports. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with genital tobacco powder use among women in The Gambia. Methods: A sequential exploratory mixed approach was used. The research was carried out in two areas of The Gambia: one rural (Farafenni) and one urban (Banjul). Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to recruit (30) participants in the qualitative study. The quantitative study interviewed (400) women using structured questionnaire that was developed from the qualitative results. SPSS version 24 and STATA version 7 were used to analyze the data. Descriptive, Bivariate and multivariate statistics were used to summarize the data. Results: Most of the study participants were between 30-39 years old who were married. The prevalence (17.0%; n=68) of genital tobacco powder was high among women aged 40 years and above (OR = 2.88; 95% CI = 1.03–8.05; p = 0.04), from Farafenni and satellite villages (OR = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.02-3.96; p = 0.04), had non-formal education (OR = 3.09; 95% CI 0.85–11.26; p = 0.02) and had husbands who traveled for 6 (OR = 6.67; 95% CI = 1.71–26.01; p= 0.006) or 12 or more months (OR = 9.64; 95% CI 3.19-29.18; p<0.001). The perception of women and peer influence were associated with genital tobacco powder use. Conclusion: Genital tobacco powder is practiced all over the Gambia and highest in the rural areas. Socio-demographic variables such age, residence, marital status, education status were significantly associated with the practice. According to the findings, women with low level of education and have poor perception can easily be convinced by close friends/family members to use genital tobacco powder. Therefore, awareness creation is the most important intervention to mitigate this practice.

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Section: Background Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Genital Tobacco Powder Use Among Women in the Gambia: A Mixed Study

Jaiteh

Awolude

Bah

2022

Preprint

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“…Well known studies conducted in Zambia on sunkho are two. One study was conducted by Kalubula, Shen and Khanam (2020) and the other study was done by Chimbala, Nabuzoka & Paul (2020). In their academic article, Assessment of carcinogenic and toxic substances in "insunkho" herb Kalubula et al (2020) observed that sunkho was widely used in Zambia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study was conducted by Kalubula, Shen and Khanam (2020) and the other study was done by Chimbala, Nabuzoka & Paul (2020). In their academic article, Assessment of carcinogenic and toxic substances in "insunkho" herb Kalubula et al (2020) observed that sunkho was widely used in Zambia. The focus of Kalubula et al (2020)"s study was to analyze carcinogenic and toxic substances in sunkho.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their academic article, Assessment of carcinogenic and toxic substances in "insunkho" herb Kalubula et al (2020) observed that sunkho was widely used in Zambia. The focus of Kalubula et al (2020)"s study was to analyze carcinogenic and toxic substances in sunkho. Chimbala et al (2020) investigated factors associated with usage of sunkho and the neurocognitive effects thereof.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crazy Rush for Powdery Tobacco (Sunkho) among Younger Women and girls in Petauke and Chipata districts- Zambia: Is it cultural recovery or birth of a new lifestyle?

Tembo¹

2021

IJRISS

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Sunkho (snuff) is a fine ground tobacco inhaled as dry powder or dipped in the lip/gum groove or cheek/gum vestibule for sucking as moist tobacco-mixture. In Zambia, culturally, sunkho was purely consumed by the elderly. In recent years however, sunkho has become very popular among younger women and girls. This study explored where users sourced sunkho, how they consumed sunkho and whether users were aware about health-related effects of sunkho. The study was conducted in Chipata and Petauke Districts of Zambia between March and June, 2021.A total of 25 user and non-user participants, broken down as 6 males and 19 females participated in the study. User participants were sampled through snowball sampling method. The study used an explorative research design with a qualitative approach. A single interview-per participant method was used for data collection. This study found that younger women dashed for sunkho to elevate their body temperature from ordinary-warm to unusualwarmer and for vaginal tightening so that a man enjoys memorable and satisfactory sexual pleasure. Some users consumed sunkho based on the underlying belief that sunkho helps to boost CD4 Count in HIV positive patients. This study also found that other younger female users consumed sunkho under the belief that it prevented them from acquiring COVID-19 while others did so out of need for social conformity with the prevailing fashion. The study found low levels of awareness among participants on health-associated risks of sunkho. Since users are continuously inventing methods of consuming sunkho, exposing themselves further to tobacco-associated cancers, this study recommends that health workers conduct aggressive community sensitization campaigns on sunkho and other smokeless tobacco products on health. Institutions offering health-related training programmes to include the use of Smokeless tobacco in their curriculum as a new threat to the emergence of malignancies of unknown origin among users. Ministry of Education to take a critical step in creating awareness to all pupils and students on the dangers of using sunkho and other smokeless tobacco products.

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Smokeless tobacco (snuff) and site‐specific cancer risks in adult Black South African women: Findings from the Johannesburg Cancer Study

Motlhale,

Sitas,

de Villiers

et al. 2024

Intl Journal of Cancer

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Smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is an established carcinogen to the nasal cavity, lip, and oropharynx, however, few studies have examined cancer risks in older African women among whom SLT use is common. We investigated snuff use and the risk of site‐specific cancers among 15,336 newly diagnosed female cancer patients in the Johannesburg Cancer Study, South Africa. We designed case–control comparisons across multiple cancer outcomes: (a) known SLT‐associated cancers; (b) other tobacco‐related cancers and (c) genital cancers owing to intravaginal snuff use. Controls (n = 2961) comprised all other cancer patients. We also investigated (d) each control cancer type versus the remaining controls to explore possible associations with other cancers. Logistic models were fitted to estimate odds ratios adjusted for age, education, tobacco smoking, alcohol, HIV, and language. Overall, ever use of snuff was 22% among control cancers. Ever snuff use was associated with cervical (OR 1.14 [95%CI 1.00–1.30]) and eye and adnexa cancer (OR 1.95 [95%CI 1.03–3.70]). Associations with vulva cancer were less clear, 95% CI's for the main effects included 1 but a subgroup analysis restricted to never‐smokers of current‐versus‐never users was positive (OR 2.10 [95%CI 1.25–3.50]). Surprisingly SLT users have lower risks of stomach cancer (OR 0.60 [95%CI 0.37–0.99]) and Hodgkin Lymphoma (OR 0.48 [95%CI 0.23–0.97]). Snuff use may increase the risk for cervical and vulva cancer in women, which is plausible via intravaginal use. Further research on the impact of SLT on female genital cancers with more detailed exposure data, including timing, intensity, and routes of use are required.

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Assessment of carcinogenic and toxic substances in ‘Insunko’ herb

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Genital Tobacco Powder Use Among Women in the Gambia: A Mixed Study

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Genital Tobacco Powder Use Among Women in the Gambia: A Mixed Study

Crazy Rush for Powdery Tobacco (Sunkho) among Younger Women and girls in Petauke and Chipata districts- Zambia: Is it cultural recovery or birth of a new lifestyle?

Smokeless tobacco (snuff) and site‐specific cancer risks in adult Black South African women: Findings from the Johannesburg Cancer Study

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