Reduce drinking and reduce cancer risk
Balance is re-launching a powerful campaign today (World Cancer Day 4 Feb) to highlight the dangers of alcohol and its proven link to cancer.
With research showing that alcohol is toxic and causes at least seven types of cancer, the message is clear: reducing alcohol consumption can help lower the risk.
In 2024, 6 in 10 (62%) North East drinkers took steps to cut down on alcohol. However, Balance is urging those who reduced or cut out drinking during January to maintain positive steps and avoid slipping back into old habits (1).
Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer including bowel, breast, mouth and throat cancer. Even low levels of drinking can increase the risk but the risk increases the more you drink (2).
Evidence from a study by the World Cancer Research fund and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (3) has now also pointed to alcohol as a being a leading preventable risk factor in rates of bowel cancer in people aged under 50 around the world. Alcohol plays a significant role by affecting the balance of bacteria in the gut and harming DNA (4). Cancer Research lists bowel cancer as the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
Balance launches the next phase of its award-winning “Alcohol is Toxic” campaign from Monday February 3rd, encouraging people to stay within Chief Medical Officer Guidelines of no more than 14 units a week to stay “low risk”. It is also calling for urgent action from Government to reduce alcohol related cancers.
Latest figures around alcohol and cancer show (5):
- Nearly 500 deaths (483) from cancer as a result of alcohol in 2019 in the North East.
- Up to 1,640 men every two years diagnosed with an alcohol-related cancer in the North East. The most common cancer for men with known associations with alcohol is bowel cancer.
- Up to 1,580 women every two years diagnosed with an alcohol-related cancer in the North East. The most common cancer for women with known associations with alcohol is breast cancer.
- Alcohol is estimated to have caused around 740,000 new cases of cancer a year globally and 17,000 in the UK in 2020.
Susan Taylor, Head of Alcohol Policy for Fresh and Balance, said: “Whether it’s drinking less often or stopping altogether, every step toward reducing alcohol intake can lower cancer risk.
“This campaign is about giving people the motivation to cut down. But we are surrounded by constant triggers to drink – from relentless alcohol advertising to cut price deals at the front of supermarkets which undermine that – increased awareness needs to be part of much wider effective action to reduce alcohol harm.”
Dr James Crosbie, a GP, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Lead for Alcohol North East & North Cumbria NHS, said: “The fact is the more you drink alcohol, the more you increase your risk of developing cancer. But cutting down on alcohol can help to reduce that risk.
“It is alcohol itself that causes damage – whether wine, beer or spirits. Alcohol is one risk factor for cancer that we can change, control and do something positive about.”
In the North East, 82% of adults believe it is important to have health campaigns on alcohol and 67% agree that the government has a responsibility to try to protect people from alcohol harms by raising awareness of risks.
62% of people who drink alcohol also say they are now taking steps to try to manage consumption, while 15% do not drink alcohol.
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Newcastle and alcohol lead for Association of Directors of Public Health North East, said: “We rightly focus on the tragedy of many early deaths from liver disease, but too often ignore the fact that alcohol is a direct cause of cancer and it is driving thousands of cases in our region.
“For too long the harms of alcohol have been soaring. If we want to prevent cancers, liver disease and the huge impact on families and communities, we need national Government action to reduce alcohol harm.”
Balance has launched “Reducing Alcohol Harm”, a blueprint calling for urgent national action to tackle the significant impact of alcohol on health, social care, crime, disorder, workplaces, and the economy which costs the North East around £1.5 billion every year.
ENDS
References
1: Independent survey of 983 adults across the North East on behalf of Balance, 2024
2: World Health Organisation in The Lancet https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
3: World Cancer Research Fund part-funded the study authored by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which has found connections between early-onset bowel (also known as colorectal) cancer and various genetic and socio-economic factors. They found strong links with body fat, alcohol consumption, and educational attainment.
4: Molecular Mechanisms of Alcohol-Induced Colorectal Carcinogenesis: National Library of Medicine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8431530/#:~:text=The%20effects%20of%20ethanol%20in,that%20can%20lead%20to%20cancer
Figures applied from Alcohol and cancer deaths figures taken from Global Burden of Disease, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Public Health Profiles and – https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles/data#page/3/gid/1938132848/pat/6/par/E12000001/ati/402/are/E06000047/iid/92323/age/164/sex/1/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/3/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-do-0