A new Cancer Research UK-funded study has found that alcohol consumption is the main reason behind 13,000 cancer cases each year in the UK alone!

According to a comprehensive Europe-wide study, which was published recently by the British Medical Journal, alcohol causes 6,000 cancers of the mouth, oesophagus, larynx and pharynx each year, along with 3,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 2,500 cases of breast cancer.

Viewing the ‘alcohol consumption and cancer’ situation from yet another angle, the study found that past or current alcohol intake is responsible for one-in-10 of all cancers in men and one-in-33 of all cancers in women in western Europe.

The cancer risk from alcohol chiefly results from the fact that a DNA-damaging chemical that is produced by the body when alcohol is broken down; thus implying that even ‘moderate’ drinking can increase the risk of cancer.

Noting that most of the people in the UK are apparently unaware of the link between alcohol and cancer risk, though they largely link alcohol with liver disease, Sarah Matthews – campaigns manager of the British Liver Trust – said that there is need for substantive measures to combat alcoholism, like setting a minimum pricing at an effective level.

In the opinion of Matthews, only if this study forms the basis of pertinent EU measures to deal with the four Ps of alcohol marketing – price, promotion, product, and placement – will there be a worthwhile change in “how alcohol is viewed and consumed”!