Alcohol consumption is a significant cause of cancer in Europe, according to a new report from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The agency calls for stronger government action to reduce drinking and prevent thousands of cancer cases and deaths each year.
In the European Union — the region with the highest alcohol consumption globally — alcohol was responsible for more than 111,000 new cancer cases in 2020. Worldwide, the total reached an estimated 741,000 cases, with men accounting for nearly 70% of these.
The economic burden is also severe. WHO estimates that premature deaths caused by alcohol-related cancers cost €4.58 billion in 2018.
“The WHO European Region, and especially countries of the EU, are paying too high a price for alcohol in preventable cancers and broken families, as well as costing billions to taxpayers,” said Dr. Gundo Weiler, head of prevention and health promotion at WHO Europe. “Some call alcohol a ‘cultural heritage,’ but disease, death, and disability should not be normalised as part of European culture.”
How Alcohol Contributes to Cancer
Alcohol was first classified as a carcinogen by IARC in 1988. It increases the risk of at least seven cancers — including those of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum, and female breast.
Researchers say alcohol can cause cancer through several biological mechanisms, such as changes in hormone levels, disruption of the gut microbiome, and DNA damage caused by oxidative stress or by acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism. Reducing or quitting alcohol lowers these risks.
Most alcohol-related cancers are linked to “risky” (two to six drinks per day) or “heavy” (more than six drinks per day) drinking. However, even “moderate” drinking — fewer than two drinks a day — caused more than 100,000 new cancer cases globally in 2020.
Strategies for Reducing Risk
This new IARC analysis is the first to assess the potential impact of alcohol-related cancer prevention. It confirms that broad alcohol control policies reduce consumption and, consequently, cancer risk.
IARC recommends measures such as higher taxes, minimum pricing, raising the legal drinking age, limiting alcohol outlet density, restricting sales hours, banning alcohol marketing, and introducing government-controlled sales systems.
According to a 2021 study, doubling alcohol excise taxes could have prevented 6% of alcohol-related cancer cases and deaths in 2019 across WHO’s European region, which includes Europe and Central Asia.
“Raising awareness about the cancer risks of alcohol and the fact that no level of drinking is safe is critical,” said Dr. Béatrice Lauby-Secretan, deputy head of IARC’s evidence synthesis and classification branch. “Everyone has a role to play in changing the current norms and values surrounding alcohol consumption.”
