STUDENTS are being warned of the dangers of binge drinking and smoking following an increase in the numbers of young people diagnosed with mouth cancer.

People who smoke and drink face a 30 times greater risk of developing the disease, according to the Mouth Cancer Foundation (MCF).

"This increase in a cancer that is often difficult to treat, and sometimes debilitating and disfiguring, is alarming and we need to take action now to warn students of the dangers," said a spokesman.

In its very early stages, mouth cancer can be almost invisible making it easy to ignore.

Cancer can occur in any part of the mouth, tongue, lips, throat, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx, sinus, and other sites located in the head and neck area.

Every three hours someone in the UK will die from a mouth cancer. The rates have increased fastest in men in their 40s and 50s who started smoking and drinking as students.

The other fastest rising rates were seen among women in their early 30s which is believed to reflect increasing levels of alcohol consumption.

As part of Mouth Cancer Awareness Week, the MCF is hosting the first annual Mouth Cancer Voice Awards on Sunday 18th November 2007.

The Mouth Cancer Voice Awards will celebrate the most talented, brightest young singing and comedy stars in the country.

Students can enter by recording and uploading a short video demo on mouthcancervoice.org to be voted on by the public.

The sooner the entry is made, the more exposure and time there is to be voted on. A short list of finalists will be drawn up and three acts per category will be invited to attend a live grand final in London on Sunday before a celebrity-packed panel of judges.

Pop star and former Atomic Kitten band member, Natasha Hamilton, is among a number of stars supporting the event.

"Mouth cancer is a disease that has affected my family as it is how my nan died," she said. "The Mouth Cancer Voice Awards is a great way to have fun and draw attention to this little known, but deadly disease".