Alcohol linked to widespread cancer in Europe, WHO report warns

Alcohol consumption ranks as a major driver of cancer in Europe, where specialists advocate for tougher governmental measures to reduce drinking and avert numerous cancer diagnoses and fatalities annually.

Within the European Union—the global subregion with the highest alcohol intake—drinking triggered over 111,000 fresh cancer diagnoses in 2020, based on a recent scientific analysis by the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Globally, the estimate climbed to around 741,000 cases, with males comprising nearly 70% of those new cancers.

“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, who leads prevention and health promotion efforts at WHO's Europe office.

“Some call alcohol a ‘cultural heritage’, but disease, death, and disability should not be normalised as part of European culture," he added.

Since 1988, the IARC has designated alcohol as a carcinogen. 

According to the agency, consuming alcohol heightens the likelihood of developing at least seven cancer varieties, such as those affecting the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, female breast and colorectum.

The organization advocated for strategies including increased taxation, establishing minimum pricing, elevating the minimum legal age for drinking.

These would be complemented by measures such as reducing the concentration of alcohol outlets, curtailing sales hours or days, prohibiting alcohol advertising, and adopting state-monopolized alcohol distribution.