International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified alcohol along with asbestos, radiation and tobacco
Health News: There is a popular perception that moderate alcohol use has possible health benefits. So much so that some even claim that moderate drinking can be good for the heart and circulatory system. However, a recent study has suggested that there is no safe limit to it and any amount of drinking can severely impact one’s health.
According to a statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO), published in The Lancet Public Health journal, there are no studies to show the potential benefits of alcohol.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified alcohol along with asbestos, radiation and tobacco, as a high-risk Group 1 carcinogen, contributing to cancer worldwide.
Earlier, the agency found that alcohol can cause at least seven types of cancer. This included some most common types of cancer such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer. It is also linked with oesophagus, liver and colorectal cancers.
Alcohol causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer.
In the WHO European Region where cancer is the leading cause of death, light to moderate alcohol consumption, that is less than 20 grams of pure alcohol every day, resulted in 23,000 new cancer cases in 2017, constituting half of all alcohol-associated cancers, and approximately 50 per cent of these were female breast cancers.
“Potential protective effects of alcohol consumption, suggested by some studies, are tightly connected with the comparison groups chosen and the statistical methods used, and may not consider other relevant factors,” said Jurgen Rehm, member of the WHO Regional Director for Europe’s Advisory Council for Noncommunicable Diseases.
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