Alcohol consumption is a major driver of cancer in Europe, according to a new report from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Experts say that stronger government policies to limit alcohol use could prevent thousands of cancer cases and deaths every year.
In the European Union—the region with the world’s highest levels of alcohol consumption—alcohol was responsible for more than 111,000 new cancer cases in 2020, the IARC review found. Globally, alcohol was linked to an estimated 741,000 cancer cases, with men accounting for nearly 70% of them.
The economic burden is also severe. In 2018, premature deaths caused by alcohol-related cancers cost Europe approximately €4.58 billion.
“The WHO European Region, and especially EU countries, are paying too high a price for alcohol in preventable cancers and broken families, as well as billions in costs to taxpayers,” said Dr. Gundo Weiler, WHO Europe’s head of prevention and health promotion. “Some call alcohol a cultural heritage, but disease, death, and disability should not be normalised as part of European culture.”
How Alcohol Causes Cancer
Alcohol was first classified as a carcinogen in 1988. IARC reports that it increases the risk of at least seven cancers: those of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum, and female breast.
Scientists believe alcohol promotes cancer through several biological pathways, including hormone disruption, alterations to the gut microbiome, oxidative stress, and DNA damage caused by acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct of ethanol metabolism.
Cutting down or quitting alcohol can significantly reduce the risk of developing these cancers.
Most alcohol-related cancers stem from “risky” drinking (two to six drinks per day) and “heavy” drinking (more than six drinks per day). However, even “moderate” consumption (fewer than two drinks daily) caused over 100,000 cancer cases worldwide in 2020.
Reducing the Risk
For the first time, IARC’s latest analysis assessed the potential benefits of alcohol-related cancer prevention. It confirmed that population-wide policies to reduce alcohol consumption effectively lower cancer risk.
The agency recommended several strategies, including raising alcohol taxes, setting minimum pricing, increasing the legal drinking age, limiting the number of alcohol outlets, reducing sale hours, banning advertising, and introducing government-controlled alcohol sales.
Evidence suggests that such measures work. A 2021 study found that doubling alcohol excise taxes could have prevented 6% of new alcohol-related cancers and deaths in 2019 across the WHO European region.
“Raising awareness about the cancer risks of alcohol—and that no level of drinking is safe—is essential,” said Dr. Béatrice Lauby-Secretan, deputy head of IARC’s evidence synthesis and classification branch. “Everyone has a role to play in changing the current norms and values surrounding alcohol consumption.”
