Alcohol linked to 1,000 new cancer diagnoses in Ireland 

Up to 4% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in 2020 may have been associated with drinking alcohol, a global study suggests.

Alcohol is estimated to have caused more than 1,000 new cancer cases in Ireland last year, or around 4% of all cases, according to a new study.

The research, published in The Lancet medical journal, estimates some 670 men and 380 women were diagnosed with cancers linked to alcohol consumption last year, 4.6% of all cases in men and 3% in women.

Globally, alcohol was linked to 740,000 new cases of the disease last year, around 4% of all cancer diagnoses.

Alcohol is classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as there is a “proven, causal link” between alcohol and several types of cancer including cancers of the aerodigestive tract (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and oesophagus) and cancers of the colon, rectum, liver, and breast.

Alcohol consumption has been shown to cause DNA damage through increased production of harmful chemicals in the body, affects hormone production, which can contribute to cancer development and can also exacerbate the cancer-causing effects of other substances like tobacco.

According to the researchers, 'risky' heavy drinking, defined as more than two drinks per day, accounts for most alcohol-caused cancers, but even moderate to low levels of alcohol consumption can be linked to cancer cases, the study found.

Drinking just a half-pint or a small glass of wine per day could cause certain cancers  

Drinking up to 10g of alcohol a day, equivalent to a half-pint or a small glass of wine, for example, contributed to around 14% of these cases, somewhere between 35,400 and 145,800 cases globally in 2020.

The research also shows that, among females, the highest national-level age-standardised incidence rates were in northern and western European countries, including Belgium, France, and Ireland.

A study published by The Lancet in 2019 revealed Irish adolescent girls ranked third in a global table of the worst binge drinkers. About two-thirds (61%) had reported binge drinking in the 12 months prior to the study.

Commenting on the latest research, Eunan McKinney of Alcohol Action Ireland said it marries with previous Irish research conducted in 2013 that indicated 900 people are diagnosed with alcohol-related cancers each year and around 500 people die from these diseases every year.

Eunan McKinney of Alcohol Action Ireland. Picture: Jason Clarke 

“This is why the Public Health Alcohol Act, passed nearly 3 years ago, provides for the accurate labelling of all alcohol products and ensures that every product must inform the public of the direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers,” he said.

This section of the Act has yet to be commenced by the Minister for Health.

“We understand these regulations have been delayed by priority afforded to the COVID-19 response,” Mr McKinney said, “but today's report highlights the need, yet again, to urgently support the public's right to know of the risk, and to help the drinker to join the dots between alcohol use and cancer.”

A separate piece of research published by Drinkaware today shows there has been a rise in binge drinking since the onset of the pandemic with half of drinkers now admitting to binge drinking in last month, compared to 36% in 2019 pre-Covid