The World Health Organization (WHO), in its recent assessment, has warned that there is no amount of alcohol that can be considered safe for drinking. The global health organisation says that while the risk of cancer increases with an increase in alcohol consumption, even moderate or light intake of alcohol can be carcinogenic.
In a statement published in The Lancet Public Health, the WHO has clarified that “when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health”.
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According to the WHO, alcohol consumption can result in at least seven types of cancer including the most common types such as female breast cancer and bowel cancer. Alcohol causes cancer “through biological mechanisms” as it breaks down in the body. This means that if you are having a beverage that has alcohol in it then it can lead to cancer regardless of its price or quality.
The risk of cancer gets higher as you consume more alcohol. However, as per the latest data, “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption – ‘less than 1.5 litres of wine, 3.5 litres of beer, or 450 millilitres of spirits per week’ – causes half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region.
The WHO asserts that there is evidence available suggesting any threshold where the cancer-causing effects of alcohol “switch on” and start harming the human system. It says that in order to identify a “safe” level of alcohol consumption, valid scientific evidence must show that there is no risk or injury associated with alcohol intake below a certain level.
It further states that no studies have been conducted to show that the potential benefits of light and moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes can outweigh the risk of developing cancer risk with the same amount of alcohol for the consumers.
Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, said that “We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage”.
She added, “the only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is”.
The WHO European Region has the highest level of alcohol consumption and the highest proportion of drinkers in the population, with over 200 million people at risk of developing alcohol-related cancer.
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