Alcoholic Beverages Cause Cancer; Industry Groups Advocate " Responsible " Drinking

Clear patterns have emerged relating alcoholic beverage consumption to the development of head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer (see:Alcohol and Cancer Risk). Hence, when countries experience high consumption of alcoholic beverages, public health officials worry that their populations may experience a surge in the incidence of such lesions in the future. A recent article discussed this possibility in Europe, particularly GI cancers (see:Love Affair With Alcohol Is Driving GI Cancers). Below is an excerpt from the article:Europe could be headed for sharp increases in rates of alcohol-related digestive cancers unless strategic political and clinical efforts reshape the cultural status quo in a region where the per capita daily drinking rates are the highest in the world....With an average alcohol consumption of two drinks per day, adults in all 28 member states of the European Union (EU) face a 21% increased risk for colorectal and esophageal cancer....More than one fifth of the European population aged 15 years and older are drinking heavily at least once a week, and not one state within the EU has"light" per capita alcohol consumption, defined as an average of one or fewer alcoholic drinks per day. Moderate alcohol consumption was defined at one to four drinks per day."Heavy" drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks each day, is associated with a significantly increased risk for pancreatic, li...
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