For every seven drinks Australians have a week, their risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer rises by 10 per cent, according to a sobering new study.
Australia's largest ever investigation of the impact of alcohol on cancer risk, published on Monday in the British Journal of Cancer, is particularly relevant because of increased consumption during the COVID-19 crisis.
Before the pandemic, alcohol was attributed to 3500 new cancer cases each year in Australia. If the increase during COVID-19 is not reversed, this number will grow.
The five-year study links consumption to seven prominent cancer types: liver, oesophagus, mouth, pharynx, larynx, bowel and breast.
For NSW residents over 45, it found the relative risk of developing one of these cancers jumped by 41 per cent in “heavy drinkers”, defined as those who consumed over 28 drinks per week, compared with light drinkers who had one to three a week.
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Read the full study from British Journal of Cancer