Daily drinking 'increases bowel cancer risk'

Drinking a large glass of wine or a pint of beer a day increases the risk of developing bowel cancer by around 10%, a report out today said.

Drinking around two pints a day or around two large glasses of wine increases the risk by 25%, a study found.

The lifetime risk for bowel cancer is one in 20 for men and one in 18 for women.

Almost 480,000 people across 10 European countries were questioned about their drinking habits as part of the ongoing European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study.

That research is funded by cancer research agencies across Europe.

The findings on bowel cancer, published online in the International Journal of Cancer, found that people who drank 15 grams of alcohol a day – equivalent to about two units – had around a 10% increased risk of bowel cancer.

Those who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol – equivalent to three to four units – increased their bowel cancer risk by around 25%.

The number of units a drink contains depends on how strong it is and how large the measure.

All the participants in the study were followed up for a period of six years. During that period, 1,833 people developed bowel cancer.

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer information, said: “There is a lot of confusion over safe levels of drinking.

“This partly arises over the increasing strength of some wines and beers and the fact that many pubs offer a large glass of wine that is actually equivalent to one third of a bottle.

“It is important that people do not automatically equate one drink with one unit. A large glass of wine with a high alcohol volume is likely to be the equivalent of considerably more than that.

“Cancer Research UK recommends that women should drink less than two units a day and men less than three.

“While there is increasing evidence that over indulging in alcohol can increase the risk of some cancers, research also shows that by far the biggest risk for life threatening diseases is the combination of smoking together with drinking alcohol.”