Third of Irish mouth cancers caused by alcohol consumption

Elijah Sewell from Ballincollig, Cork: 'When the sore throat didn't go away after the holiday, I went back. We did tests and they told me I had throat cancer.' Picture: Denis Minihane

A third of cases of mouth cancers diagnosed in Ireland each year are caused by alcohol consumption, a health official has said.

There has also been an increase in the number of women diagnosed with the disease, while the average age of patients has fallen.