Most people aren’t aware that alcohol could have an impact on your risk for cancer. Let’s explore the reasons

As a recreational drug, alcohol is relatively easily accessible and widely consumed, yet few people realise it is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, which places it in the same category as tobacco. What this essentially means is that there is strong scientific evidence that alcohol directly causes cancer.

Even small amounts can amplify this risk. The key question is not just whether alcohol is harmful, but how much increases your risk, and what you can do about it. In South Africa, alcohol is considered to be the most widespread and harmful drug of abuse.

What the research says

Elize Joubert, CANSA CEO, states, “Alcohol consumption is associated with significant public health and safety problems, including causing a number of cancers. There’s strong evidence that alcohol causes cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx, liver and oesophagus. And there’s also mounting evidence that heavy drinking might be linked to cancer of the pancreas. Furthermore, evidence suggests that drinking alcohol causes stomach and breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. Alcohol can cause weight gain which also increases cancer risk.”

Understanding carcinogens

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). Its major objective is to identify causes of cancer. The most used system for classifying carcinogens comes from the IARC.

In the past 30 years, the IARC has evaluated the cancer-causing potential of more than 900 likely substances, placing them into groups:

  1. Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans
  2. Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans
  3. Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans
  4. Group 3: Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans
  5. Group 4: Probably not carcinogenic to humans

Alcohol was declared a carcinogen (Group 1) in 1988 by IARC. The IARC reports that no amount of alcohol is safe to drink.

    The impact of alcohol on your health

    In 2015, alcohol was declared the fifth leading cause of death and disability in South Africa.

    This is due to the fact that alcohol influences unsafe sexual practices (including transmission and progression of sexually transmitted diseases), and interpersonal violence.

    These factors are among the top two contributors to disability and death, with alcohol itself being the third largest contributor to disability and death.

    Of the 7% of the disease burden attributable to alcohol, 3.4% are related to cancers. Furthermore, alcohol use is linked to personal injury (including those due to road crashes), and suicides. Alcohol consumption is also associated with destruction of families and disruption of communities.

    The hidden toll of alcohol and your risk for cancer

    How much alcohol is “safe” to consume?

    There is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer risk. However, many health guidelines define low-risk drinking as:

    • No more than one drink per day for women.
    • No more than two drinks per day for men.
    • Several alcohol-free days per week.

    Important: Even within these limits, cancer risk is not zero; it simply increases more gradually.

    How alcohol increases cancer risk

    Drinking any type of alcoholic beverage, even in small amounts, whether wine, spirits, or commercially produced beer increases the risk for cancer. 

    Alcohol contributes to cancer through several biological mechanisms:

    • DNA damage: Ethanol is converted into acetaldehyde, a toxic compound that damages DNA.
    • Hormonal disruption: Alcohol increases oestrogen levels, raising the risk of breast and reproductive cancers.
    • Oxidative stress: It promotes inflammation and cellular damage.
    • Nutrient depletion: It interferes with absorption of key protective nutrients like folate.
    • Weight gain: Excess calories from alcohol contribute to obesity, a known cancer risk factor.

    Tips to lower your alcohol intake:

    • Acknowledge that drinking can harm your health and negatively influence others’ wellbeing – make the decision to lower the amount of alcohol you drink and to do so responsibly.
    • Decide ahead of time how many drinks you will limit yourself to on a particular occasion.
    • Make your drink last by drinking slowly – avoid drinking rounds.
    • Choose times of the week which you will keep as alcohol-free and stick to it – challenge your friends to do the same.
    • Avoid drinking on an empty stomach. Choose lighter beers or spirits with less alcohol.
    • Get creative in mixing drinks that allow you to reduce alcohol content.
    • Alternate your drinks with water.
    • Calculate how much money you save each time you don’t buy alcoholic drinks.

    Images: Freepik

    Sources