Bacon and red meat have been in the news recently for causing cancer. Now, the World Health Organization has released a list of 116 items that can cause cancer.

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Processed meat is said to cause colorectal cancer as the substances added during the processing of meat are harmful. Food items like chorizo, smoked ham and salami are on par with arsenic and asbestos with regard to the potential for cancer.

The World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that 50 g of processed meat each day can increase the chances of bowel cancer by a fifth.

In India, the WHO states that in men it is mouth and oropharynx, and trachea, bronchus and lung cancers that are most prevalent. For women, it is breast cancer and cervical and uterine cancer that are most prevalent. 

“Despite exciting advances, the World Cancer Report shows that we cannot treat our way out of the cancer problem,” states Dr Christopher Wild, Director of IARC and co-editor of the World Cancer Report 2014. “More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed in order to complement improved treatments and address the alarming rise in cancer burden globally," he adds.

Here is the full list released by WHO:

1. Tobacco smoking2. Sunlamps and sunbeds3. Aluminium production4. Arsenic in drinking water5. Auramine production6. Boot and shoe manufacture and repair7. Chimney sweeping8. Coal gasification9. Coal tar distillation10. Coke (fuel) production11. Furniture and cabinet making12. Haematite mining (underground) with exposure to radon13. Secondhand smoke14. Iron and steel founding15. Isopropanol manufacture (strong-acid process)16. Magenta dye manufacturing17. Occupational exposure as a painter18. Paving and roofing with coal-tar pitch19. Rubber industry20. Occupational exposure of strong inorganic acid mists containing sulphuric acid21. Naturally occurring mixtures of aflatoxins (produced by funghi)22. Alcoholic beverages23. Areca nut - often chewed with betel leaf24. Betel quid without tobacco25. Betel quid with tobacco26. Coal tar pitches27. Coal tars28. Indoor emissions from household combustion of coal29. Diesel exhaust30. Mineral oils, untreated and mildly treated31. Phenacetin, a pain and fever reducing drug32. Plants containing aristolochic acid (used in Chinese herbal medicine)33. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - widely used in electrical equipment in the past, banned in many countries in the 1970s34. Chinese-style salted fish35. Shale oils36. Soots37. Smokeless tobacco products38. Wood dust39. Processed meat40. Acetaldehyde41. 4-Aminobiphenyl42. Aristolochic acids and plants containing them43. Asbestos44. Arsenic and arsenic compounds45. Azathioprine46. Benzene47. Benzidine48. Benzo[a]pyrene49. Beryllium and beryllium compounds50. Chlornapazine (N,N-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-2-naphthylamine)51. Bis(chloromethyl)ether52. Chloromethyl methyl ether53. 1,3-Butadiene54. 1,4-Butanediol dimethanesulfonate (Busulphan, Myleran)55. Cadmium and cadmium compounds56. Chlorambucil57. Methyl-CCNU (1-(2-Chloroethyl)-3-(4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea; Semustine)58. Chromium(VI) compounds59. Ciclosporin60. Contraceptives, hormonal, combined forms (those containing both oestrogen and a progestogen)61. Contraceptives, oral, sequential forms of hormonal contraception (a period of oestrogen-only followed by a period of both oestrogen and a progestogen)62. Cyclophosphamide63. Diethylstilboestrol64. Dyes metabolized to benzidine65. Epstein-Barr virus66. Oestrogens, nonsteroidal67. Oestrogens, steroidal68. Oestrogen therapy, postmenopausal69. Ethanol in alcoholic beverages70. Erionite71. Ethylene oxide72. Etoposide alone and in combination with cisplatin and bleomycin73. Formaldehyde74. Gallium arsenide75. Helicobacter pylori (infection with)76. Hepatitis B virus (chronic infection with)77. Hepatitis C virus (chronic infection with)78. Herbal remedies containing plant species of the genus Aristolochia79. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (infection with)80. Human papillomavirus type 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 6681. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I82. Melphalan83. Methoxsalen (8-Methoxypsoralen) plus ultraviolet A-radiation84. 4,4'-methylene-bis(2-chloroaniline) (MOCA)85. MOPP and other combined chemotherapy including alkylating agents86. Mustard gas (sulphur mustard)87. 2-Naphthylamine88. Neutron radiation89. Nickel compounds90. 4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)91. N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN)92. Opisthorchis viverrini (infection with)93. Outdoor air pollution94. Particulate matter in outdoor air pollution95. Phosphorus-32, as phosphate96. Plutonium-239 and its decay products (may contain plutonium-240 and other isotopes), as aerosols97. Radioiodines, short-lived isotopes, including iodine-131, from atomic reactor accidents and nuclear weapons detonation (exposure during childhood)98. Radionuclides, α-particle-emitting, internally deposited99. Radionuclides, β-particle-emitting, internally deposited100. Radium-224 and its decay products101. Radium-226 and its decay products102. Radium-228 and its decay products103. Radon-222 and its decay products104. Schistosoma haematobium (infection with)105. Silica, crystalline (inhaled in the form of quartz or cristobalite from occupational sources)106. Solar radiation107. Talc containing asbestiform fibres108. Tamoxifen109. 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin110. Thiotepa (1,1',1'-phosphinothioylidynetrisaziridine)111. Thorium-232 and its decay products, administered intravenously as a colloidal dispersion of thorium-232 dioxide112. Treosulfan113. Ortho-toluidine114. Vinyl chloride115. Ultraviolet radiation116. X-radiation and gamma radiation