Alcohol consumption is a significant cause of cancer in Europe, according to a new report from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The agency urges governments to adopt stronger measures to reduce drinking, which could 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 number reached approximately 741,000, with men accounting for nearly 70% of these cases. The economic cost is also steep: premature deaths from alcohol-related cancers amounted to €4.58 billion in 2018, according to WHO data.
Dr. Gundo Weiler, head of prevention and health promotion at WHO’s Europe office, emphasized the heavy burden alcohol places on the region. “The WHO European Region, and especially EU countries, are paying too high a price for alcohol in preventable cancers and broken families, as well as costing billions to taxpayers,” he said. “Some call alcohol a ‘cultural heritage,’ but disease, death, and disability should not be normalized 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 types of cancer: mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum, and female breast cancer. Researchers believe this occurs through several mechanisms, such as hormonal changes, damage to DNA caused by acetaldehyde (a byproduct of ethanol), oxidative stress, and disruptions to the gut microbiome.
Reducing or quitting alcohol can significantly lower the risk of developing these cancers. While most alcohol-attributable cancers stem from “risky” (two to six drinks per day) or “heavy” (more than six drinks per day) consumption, even “moderate” drinking (fewer than two drinks daily) was linked to more than 100,000 new cancer cases globally in 2020.
Strategies to Reduce Risk
The IARC report, the first to assess the potential benefits of alcohol-related cancer prevention, confirmed that policies limiting alcohol use lead to measurable reductions in cancer risk. The agency recommends measures such as higher taxes, minimum pricing, raising the legal drinking age, reducing the number and density of alcohol retailers, restricting sales hours, banning alcohol advertising, and introducing government-controlled sales systems.
According to IARC, these strategies effectively reduce alcohol consumption and, consequently, the incidence of alcohol-related cancers. For instance, a 2021 study found that doubling alcohol excise taxes could have prevented about 6% of new alcohol-related cancer cases and deaths in 2019 across WHO’s European region.
“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.”
