Asda and the NHS have teamed up to provide advice on millions of toothpaste tubes and mouthwash bottles, encouraging people to contact their GP or dentist if they notice any potential symptoms of mouth cancer.
From this month, Asda’s own brand of oral hygiene products will now feature NHS advice in over 500 stores. The guidance will be displayed on the packaging, along with a link to more detailed information about mouth and throat cancer on the NHS website.
The aim of the partnership is to raise awareness of symptoms that could indicate cancer, such as a white or red patch in the mouth that does not heal within three weeks, a lump or swelling in the mouth, jaw, or neck that lasts for more than three weeks, and difficulty swallowing, chewing, or moving the jaw or tongue.
Numbness in the tongue or other areas of the mouth, a sensation of something being stuck in the throat, a chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists for more than six weeks, and unexplained loosening of teeth can also be possible signs of cancer.
Sam Dickson, Asda Vice President for Commercial Strategy, Operations & Own Brand, said: “We’re proud to launch this collaboration with the NHS by putting mouth and throat cancer awareness on our own brand oral hygiene products, including mouthwash and toothpaste.
“Asda sells over 2 million of these everyday items each year, so making this small change to our packaging means we can make a big difference in encouraging shoppers to be more aware and to highlight what they should do if they find any new or unexplained changes.”
Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, added: “Early detection of mouth cancer can help save lives, and this fantastic new partnership with Asda will be vital in raising awareness of the signs and in supporting the NHS’s ambition to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage.”
NAM Implications:
- Back in the day there was hardly space on labels to cover the obligatory stuff…
- …especially on toothpaste tubes.
- (But they still retain the innovator’s advantage?)
