Maybe incense should come with a warning label like tobacco products? That’s the upshot of new research showing incense smoke, like that from tobacco, contains chemicals that can damage DNA.

The research — led by Rong Zhou of the South China University of Technology and the China Tobacco Guangdong Industrial Company in China — suggests incense users can experience genetic changes linked to the development of cancers.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, is the first to evaluate the health risks associated with its indoor incense use — a common recreational practice and a part of many religious ceremonies.

When incense is burned, it releases particles and chemicals into the air matter that can be inhaled and trapped in the lungs, where they can cause inflammation and genetic changes.
Indoor air pollution has been linked to the development of lung cancer, childhood leukemia, and brain tumors.

Zhou's team compared the smoke of two types of popular incense — agarwood and sandalwood — to cigarette smoke. The researchers found incense smoke is mutagenic, meaning that it contains chemical properties that could potentially change genetic material such as DNA, and therefore cause mutations.

It was also more cytotoxic and genotoxic than the cigarette used in the study, meaning it is potentially more toxic to a cell.

"Clearly, there needs to be greater awareness and management of the health risks associated with burning incense in indoor environments," said Zhou.