Alcohol consumption remains one of the major causes of cancer in Europe, according to a new report from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which has urged governments to strengthen policies aimed at reducing drinking rates.
The IARC study found that alcohol was responsible for more than 111,000 new cancer cases across the European Union in 2020 — the highest rate globally. Worldwide, the number reached an estimated 741,000, with men accounting for nearly 70 per cent of cases.
The WHO warned that the impact of alcohol-related cancers extends far beyond public health. In 2018, premature deaths from such diseases cost European economies €4.58 billion. “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 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 in 1988, and the IARC report confirms it increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer — including cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum, and breast.
Researchers say alcohol causes cancer through several biological mechanisms, such as hormonal imbalances, DNA damage caused by oxidative stress, and exposure to acetaldehyde — a toxic compound produced when the body breaks down ethanol.
Even moderate drinking poses a risk. While most alcohol-related cancers are linked to “risky” (two to six drinks daily) and “heavy” (more than six drinks daily) consumption, the report found that moderate intake — fewer than two drinks per day — contributed to over 100,000 new cancer cases globally in 2020.
Policy and Prevention
For the first time, the IARC evaluated the benefits of reducing alcohol consumption as a means of cancer prevention. “This analysis establishes with no further doubt that population-wide alcohol policies reduce drinking, and that reduced drinking lowers cancer risk,” said Dr. Elisabete Weiderpass, Director of IARC.
The agency called for stronger public health measures, including higher alcohol taxes, minimum pricing, raising the legal drinking age, restricting retail hours, limiting marketing, and government control over alcohol sales.
A 2021 study cited by IARC found that doubling alcohol excise taxes could have prevented six per cent of new alcohol-related cancers and deaths in 2019 in Europe and Central Asia.
Dr. Béatrice Lauby-Secretan, deputy head of IARC’s evidence synthesis and classification branch, stressed the importance of awareness. “No level of drinking is safe,” she said. “Everyone has a role to play in changing the current norms surrounding alcohol consumption.”
