Ignorance of cancer risk
MORE than a third of Scots adults do not realise that drinking alcohol poses a cancer risk.
A survey by the World Cancer Research Fund for Alcohol Awareness Week – which begins today – shows 39 per cent are not aware of the dangers.
Consuming alcohol is linked to a raised risk of several cancers including bowel, breast, liver, mouth and throat and stomach. In the UK, around 21,000 cancer cases could be prevented each year if nobody drank alcohol, the charity said.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a Group One carcinogen, which means it can cause cancer in humans. Tobacco and asbestos are also in this group.
Sarah Toule, head of health information at the World Cancer Research Fund, said: ‘It’s very worrying that so few people are aware that drinking alcohol increases their risk of developing a number of deadly cancers.’