Approximately 87 per cent of the English public don’t associate drinking alcohol with an increased risk of cancer, according to a new report commissioned by Cancer Research UK.
The report was produced by researchers from the University of Sheffield, based on findings from a nationally representative online survey of over 2,000 people.
The charity states that alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing seven different forms of cancer – liver, breast, bowel, mouth, throat, oesophageal (food pipe) and laryngeal (voice box). However, just 13 per cent of survey respondents mentioned cancer when asked which health conditions can result from drinking too much alcohol.
In addition, when asked about specific cancer types, 80 per cent said they thought alcohol caused liver cancer but only 18 per cent were aware of any association with breast cancer.