Read article Alcohol - A to Z
This page links to content about alcohol and cancer.
There is an undoubted link between alcohol and some cancers. Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of mouth cancer, pharyngeal cancer (upper throat), oesophageal cancer (food pipe), laryngeal cancer (voice box), breast cancer, bowel cancer and liver cancer.
Every year, alcohol causes about 6% of cancer deaths in the UK, killing over 9,000 people. Along with smoking, alcohol causes the vast majority of mouth and oesophageal cancers. In the last decade, mouth cancer has become much more common and this may be because of higher levels of drinking.
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Alcohol is a sub-category of Causes of cancer and Lifestyle
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Latest Alcohol news from Cancer Research UK
- News story: World leaders must 'take tobacco much more seriously' to achieve development goals
12 February 2013 - News story: Cutting alcohol intake 'would prevent 2,600 cancer deaths a year'
30 May 2012 - Press Release: HPV pushes oral cancer cases past 6,000 a year
16 March 2012 - Press Release: Cigarettes, diet, alcohol and obesity behind more than 100,000 cancers
7 December 2011 - News story: New insight into how alcohol is linked to breast and liver cancers
16 September 2011 - Press Release: Booze causes at least 13,000 cancers a year in the UK
8 April 2011 - Press Release: Less booze not more veg is key to cut cancer risk
1 December 2010 - News story: Drinking alcohol 'may increase risk of some types of breast cancer'
24 August 2010 - News story: Campaign warns of unseen health damage caused by alcohol misuse
28 January 2010 - News story: IARC finds more cancers linked to tobacco and alcohol
4 November 2009
- News story: Lifestyle-linked diseases continue to increase globally
13 December 2012 - News story: Minimum alcohol pricing 'would cut deaths and hospital admissions'
17 April 2012 - News story: Change4Life warns of cancer risk from drinking 'a little too much'
7 February 2012 - News story: Moderate drinking 'ups cancer risk'
2 November 2011 - News story: Non-communicable diseases such as cancer 'are the leading global killer'
28 April 2011 - News story: Cancer Research UK urges government to 'strengthen' alcohol commitment
15 March 2011 - News story: Scottish government proposes minimum alcohol price of 45p per unit
3 September 2010 - News story: NICE recommends minimum alcohol pricing
3 June 2010 - News story: Drinking culture blamed for 'appalling' rise in alcohol-related cancers
8 December 2009 - News story: Government figures show extent of summer holiday drinking
1 September 2009
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