Globally, ethanol — the principal form of alcohol in alcoholic beverages — is the most widely used psychoactive substance. In 2019, 44% of the global population 15 years of age or older had consumed alcohol in the previous year. The prevalence of alcohol consumption varies considerably according to geographic region, ranging from 4% in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region to at least 60% in the European, American, and Western Pacific Regions, and is higher among men than among women. 

Global Population Attributable Fractions and Number of New Cancer Cases Attributable to Alcohol Consumption in 2020, According to Cancer Site and Sex. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) on the basis of sufficient evidence of causality for oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal (squamous-cell), liver (hepatocellular), colorectal, and breast cancers3-5 (hereafter referred to as alcohol-related cancers)…