Alcohol causes cancer
Alcohol causes cancers of the breast, bowel, mouth and throat. Any level of regular drinking raises your risk.
Alcohol causes seven types of cancer
More than 2,000 people each year in the UK are diagnosed with cancer of the larynx (or the voicebox). Drinking alcohol increases your risk of laryngeal cancer and these risks increase the more you drink
Smoking and drinking together further increases your risk.
Laryngeal cancer is more common among people aged over 60 and in men. 1 in 5 cases are caused by alcohol.
If you drink alcohol, your mouth and throat are in close contact with alcohol. Alcohol is carcinogenic, which means it contains chemicals that can damage the DNA in cells and lead to cancer.
Drinking alcohol increases your risk of mouth and throat cancer. Research shows around 3/10 mouth and throat cancers are caused by drinking alcohol.
Smoking and drinking together further increases the risk of developing mouth cancer
If you drink alcohol, your mouth and throat are in close contact with alcohol. Alcohol is carcinogenic, which means it contains chemicals that can damage the DNA in cells and lead to cancer.
Research shows around 3/10 mouth and throat cancers are caused by drinking alcohol.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and drinking alcohol is one of the biggest risks. Around 4,400 new cases of breast cancer cases each year are caused by drinking alcohol.
That risk increases even at low levels of drinking – even one drink a day increases your risk.
The charity Breast Cancer Now estimates that in a group of 50 women, an extra one woman will develop breast cancer from drinking around two units of alcohol a day – that’s one standard glass of wine.
Alcohol increases your risk of liver cancer.
Drinking alcohol long term can also cause cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis increases the risk of liver cancer. Alcohol might also directly damage the DNA inside liver cells.
Fatty liver is another risk. One in five young people in the UK have fatty liver disease. Even moderate drinking can cause fat accumulation in the liver in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Over 42,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK each year. Both men and women can get bowel cancer.
Even moderate drinking causes bowel cancer. The risk of developing bowel cancer increases the more you drink but cutting down can help reduce your risk.
Drinking alcohol increases the risk of oesophageal cancer. Alcohol is a carcinogen and when you drink it travels down your food pipe.
Drinking and smoking together increases the risk even further.
Nearly 1 in 8 (13%) cases of oesophageal cancer are caused by alcohol. Even light drinking increases the risk so it’s always worth trying to cut down – some small changes can make a big difference.
