Limit alcohol

Limit alcohol

How drinking alcohol increases your risk of developing cancer

There is evidence that drinking alcohol increases the risk of 6 types of cancer.

·         Bowel

·         Brest

·         Mouth

·         Throat

·         Oesophagus

·         Liver

The more the drink the higher your risk. This means that even drinking a small amount will increase your risk of developing cancer.

The National health and Medical Research Council guidelines

·         Limit your alcohol to no more then 10 standard drinks per week

·         No more than 4 standard drinks in one day

·         People under the age of 18 should not drink alcohol

What is a standard drink?

·         Light beer (2.7% alc/vol) 425mL

·         Mid strength beer (3.5% alc/vol) 375mL

• Full strength beer (4.9% alc/vol) 285 mL

• Regular cider (4.9% alc/vol) 285 mL

• Sparkling wine (13% alc/vol) 100 mL

• Wine (13% alc/vol) 100 mL

• Fortified wine e.g. sherry, port (20% alc/vol) 60 mL

• Spirits e.g. vodka, gin, rum, whiskey (40% alc/vol) 30 mL

Other health problems and alcohol

Heavy drinking can lead to other health issues in addition to cancer

·         Cirrhosis of the liver

·         Alcohol dependence

·         Stroke

·         Suicide

·         Injury

·         Car accidents

Drinking and pregnancy

Women who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or women who are breastfeeding should not drink alcohol to prevent any harm to the child they are carrying or breastfeeding.

Smoking and alcohol

When drinking alcohol and smoking are combined, are responsible for 75% of cancers in the digestive tract.

What should I do?

To reduce your risk of cancer, don’t drink or if you choose to drink follow these guidelines:

·         Limit your intake to no more than 10 standard drinks a week

·         No more than 4 standard drinks on any one day

·         Avoid binge drinking

·         Have at least two alcohol days every week

·         Choose low alcohol drinks

·         Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or non-alcoholic drinks

·         Use water to quench thirst and sip alcohol slowly

·         Wait until your drink is empty before topping up to keep track of how many drinks you have had

·         Eat food when you drink but avoid salty snacks that make you thirsty and want to drink more