Home > 10 Good Reasons to retain a warning that is intended to inform the public of the direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers.

[Alcohol Action Ireland] 10 Good Reasons to retain a warning that is intended to inform the public of the direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers. (20 Jun 2018)

External website: http://alcoholireland.ie/10-good-reasons-retain-wa...


1.    The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organisation, has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen. (IARC, 1988)

2.    The IARC has stated there is a casual link between alcohol and cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum and female breast. (IARC)

3.    In Ireland, Alcohol is responsible for 1 in 8 Breast Cancers (HSE). Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer death in women, while only one in four women are aware of the risk.

4.    People who drink more than 3 drinks per day (36grams) increase their risk of liver cancer by 16%; people who consume 50 or more grams of alcohol per day have at least a two to three times greater risk of developing head and neck cancers than non-drinkers (AWARH, 2017)


5.    Every year around 900 people in Ireland are diagnosed with alcohol-related cancers.

6.    500 people die from these alcohol related cancers. There are approx. 9000 cancer deaths annually in Ireland. (NCRI)

7.    People who have cancers caused by alcohol are 50% more likely to die than those with other cancers. (ICS)

8.    Recently elected Director, IARC, Dr. Elisabete Weiderpass: “public health initiatives and legislation addressing alcohol intake seems necessary to prevent cancer incidence and mortality worldwide, as alcohol contributes to approximately 3.6% of cancer incidence and 3.5% to 5% of cancer mortality.” (2015)

9.    Every day, 1,500 beds in our overcrowded hospitals are occupied by people with alcohol-related problems. (HRB, 2016)

10.    Alcohol-related discharges from hospital cost the tax-payer €1.5 billion in 2012, which is equal to €1 for every €10 spent on public health. (HRB, 2016)

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