Drinking a 750ml bottle of wine a week increases the lifetime risk of developing cancer to the same extent as smoking 10 cigarettes a week for women or five for men, according to a new study.
The research, carried out by the University of Southampton and the University of Bangor in the United Kingdom, considers that this is a good comparison to explain the health risks of moderate drinking.
However, experts warned that smoking carries a much higher cancer risk than alcohol, for most drinkers.
They add that the only way to reduce the risk of tobacco is to stop smoking.
In the UK, authorities recommend that men and women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, the equivalent of six pints (a pint is 0.56 liters) of beer or seven glasses of wine (a bottle and a half of wine).
These recommendations also say there is no “safe” limit on drinking when it comes to health risks.
The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, says that even moderate drinking can put people at risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer.
Cancer and Alcohol
The study’s authors estimate that in non-smoking men, the absolute risk of developing cancer in their lifetime associated with consuming one bottle of wine per week is 1%.
In women who meet the same conditions, the risk is 1.4%.
In women, alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and, in men, with liver and gastrointestinal tract cancer.
Minouk Schoemaker, a scientist at the Cancer Research Institute in London who researches the causes of breast cancer, said the study offered “interesting insight” but said the picture was complex.
“The overall picture of cancer risk is enormously complex and nuanced, so it is important to note that this new study is subject to several assumptions,” she explained.
“For example, it is difficult to completely separate the effects of alcohol and cigarettes, and the study did not take into account the duration of smoking or the time since someone quit.”
The research only looked at cancer (it did not include any other diseases associated with smoking such as cardiovascular or lung disease).
It also used data from 2004 and did not take into account other factors that can cause cancer such as age, genes, diet, and other lifestyle aspects.
On the other hand, the number of cigarettes “equivalent” to alcohol consumption is small, when in reality smokers consume many more per day.
As a result, many question how useful this study is.
Utility
“I’m not sure many people decide whether to smoke or drink by comparing the risks of both,” says John Britton, director of the Centre for Alcohol and Tobacco Studies at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
The study shows that, about cancer risk, smoking is much more dangerous than consuming alcohol.
Smoking is also more dangerous than other diseases.
“If smokers are worried about their health, the best thing they can do is to stop smoking,” the professor added.
“People who consume alcohol should stay within the recommended 14 units per week,” Britton said.
Bob Patton, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Surrey in the UK, believes the study could transform public opinion.
“The results of this simple study are likely to have a profound effect on the way drinkers, especially women, understand the risks associated with alcohol consumption,” she said.
“Viewing alcohol in the same way as cigarettes can result in a reduction in its consumption and associated risks.”