The NOG Lab's research linking smokeless tobacco use (naswar) to oral microbiome dysbiosis and elevated oral cancer risk was featured in a Dawn newspaper investigation on cancer trends in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The article highlighted how regular naswar use significantly alters oral bacterial communities, reducing protective species and enriching bacteria associated with pro-carcinogenic inflammation. The research team called for public health campaigns targeting naswar use among young men in KPK.