Alcohol consumption is a major cause of cancer in Europe, the WHO's cancer research agency warned in a new report.
Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer across Europe, and experts say stronger government policies to curb drinking could prevent thousands of cancer cases and deaths each year.
In the European Union alone, the subregion with the heaviest alcohol consumption in the world, alcohol caused more than 111,000 new cancer cases in 2020, according to the new scientific review from the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research agency, known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Worldwide, that number reached an estimated 741,000 cases, with men accounting for almost 70 per cent of new cancers.
Beyond the health consequences, the economic toll is also substantial: according to WHO, premature deaths from alcohol-related cancers cost €4.58 billion in 2018.
“The WHO European Region, and especially countries of the EU, are paying too high a price for alcohol in preventable cancers and broken families, as well as costing billions to taxpayers,” said Dr Gundo Weiler, who leads prevention and health promotion efforts at WHO's Europe office.
