January 30, 2025
Every drink increases your risk of cancer
We’ve known about the connection between alcohol and cancer for decades.
But many Australians still don’t fully understand the risk.
This article explains the relationship between alcohol and cancer, why it’s important to be mindful of your drinking habits and how to reduce your risk.
Alcohol is a carcinogen
Alcoholic drinks are classified as a Group 1 Carcinogen. This means they cause cancer in humans.1
Drinking is directly linked to a higher risk of at least seven types of cancers. They include mouth, throat (pharynx and larynx), oesophageal, bowel, breast and liver cancer.2,3
In 2020, approximately 5,800 new cancers in Australia were due to alcohol use.2
In 2021, alcohol-related cancers claimed the lives of 1,680 Australians.4
How does alcohol cause cancer?
Alcohol increases the risk of cancer in different ways:
- Acetaldehyde production: When your body breaks down alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde. This toxic chemical can damage your cells and DNA, causing mutations that can lead to cancer.5,6
- Oxidative stress: Alcohol increases inflammation and can damage cells, proteins, and DNA.6
- Hormonal changes: Drinking can raise estrogen levels. This increases the risk of hormonal-based cancers like breast cancer.6,7
- Increased carcinogen absorption: Alcohol allows carcinogens to be absorbed easily into the body. This increases your risk of mouth, throat and oesophageal cancer.6
Misleading information on alcohol and cancer risk
There is clear evidence linking alcohol to cancer. But misleading messages continue to cloud public understanding.
Years of marketing by the alcohol industry has led many Australians to believe that drinking is harmless or has health benefits.8
Three out of four adult Australians are misled by alcohol labels that claim they are ‘low sugar’ or ‘low calorie’ products. These can cause people to believe the drinks are healthy for them.9
If people drink less, the industry makes less money. So, downplaying the risks of alcohol protects their profits. You can read more on the tactics used by the alcohol industry to deceive the public in our article Public health vs ‘Big Alcohol’ profits.
Studies on alcohol’s supposed health benefits, like antioxidants in red wine, often ignore the harmful effects of alcohol.10 Some studies even suggest that light or moderate drinking might be good for our health, like lowering the risk of heart disease.11
But research has shown the risks of drinking alcohol far outweigh any potential benefits.11-13
No amount of alcohol is good for you
There is no ‘safe’ drinking level when it comes to cancer risk.14,15 Even small amounts of alcohol raise your risk of certain cancers, like breast, mouth and throat cancer.16
It doesn't matter whether you drink beer, wine, or spirits – what’s important is how often and how much you drink.
The more alcohol you drink, the higher your cancer risk.3,12,14
Having two drinks a day might not seem like a lot. But an Australian study found drinking this amount increases a woman's cancer risk by 5% and a man's by 3%.3
What’s more concerning is that having an extra seven drinks a week can increase your risk of dying from alcohol-related cancers by 12%.4
What can I do to reduce my risk of cancer from alcohol?
Cutting down or not drinking at all can reduce your risk of cancer.3,13
If you choose to drink, you can reduce your cancer risk by:
- sticking to the Australian alcohol guidelines
- reading tips on how to reduce drinking
- choosing alcohol-free or low alcohol options
- talking to your doctor if you’re worried about your drinking and want help to cut down or stop drinking.
Take a look at our article on the Benefits of cutting down on alcohol the benefits of cutting down alcohol, and find out more about the ‘sober curious’ movement in our article What is ‘sober curious’?.
Help and further information
Free and confidential, 24/7 information, support and referrals. You’ll be automatically directed to the Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS) in the state/territory you’re calling from.
- International Agency for Research on Cancer. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–137. 2024 [21 Jan 2025].
- Rumgay H, Shield K, Charvat H, Ferrari P, Sornpaisarn B, Obot I, et al. Global burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol consumption: a population-based study. The Lancet Oncology. 2021;22(8):1071-80. [21 Jan 2025]
- The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. Alcohol and Cancer Risk 2025. [21 Jan 2025]
- Sarich P, Canfell K, Egger S, Banks E, Joshy G, Grogan P, et al. Alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and cause-specific mortality in an Australian cohort of 181,607 participants aged 45 years and over. Public Health. 2025. [21 Jan 2025]
- Garaycoechea JI, Crossan GP, Langevin F, Mulderrig L, Louzada S, Yang F, et al. Alcohol and endogenous aldehydes damage chromosomes and mutate stem cells. Nature. 2018;553(7687):171-7. [21 Jan 2025]
- Rumgay H, Murphy N, Ferrari P, Soerjomataram I, Anderson P. Alcohol and Cancer: Epidemiology and Biological Mechanisms. Nutrients. 2021;13(9). [21 Jan 2025]
- Maniyar R, Chakraborty S, Suriano R. Ethanol Enhances Estrogen Mediated Angiogenesis in Breast Cancer. J Cancer. 2018;9(21):3874-85. [21 Jan 2025]
- Petticrew M, Maani Hessari N, Knai C, Weiderpass E. How alcohol industry organisations mislead the public about alcohol and cancer. Drug and alcohol review. 2018;37(3):293-303. [21 Jan 2025]
- Haynes A, Ilchenko E, Dixon H, Morley B. Prevalence and predictors of misperceptions of ‘better-for-you’ alcohol products among Australian adult drinkers. Health Promotion International. 2024;39(6):daae134. [21 Jan 2025]
- Lombardo M, Feraco A, Camajani E, Caprio M, Armani A. Health Effects of Red Wine Consumption: A Narrative Review of an Issue That Still Deserves Debate. Nutrients. 2023;15(8). [22 Jan 2025]
- Ronksley PE, Brien SE, Turner BJ, Mukamal KJ, Ghali WA. Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj. 2011;342:d671. [22 Jan 2025]
- GBD 2016 Alcohol Collaborators. Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet. 2018;392(10152):1015-35. [21 Jan 2025]
- Stockwell T, Zhao J. Alcohol's contribution to cancer is underestimated for exactly the same reason that its contribution to cardioprotection is overestimated. Addiction. 2017;112(2):230-2. [22Jan 2025]
- Amin G, Siegel M, Naimi T. National Cancer Societies and their public statements on alcohol consumption and cancer risk. Addiction. 2018;113(10):1802-8. [21 Jan 2025]
- Anderson BO, Berdzuli N, Ilbawi A, Kestel D, Kluge HP, Krech R, et al. Health and cancer risks associated with low levels of alcohol consumption. The Lancet Public Health. 2023;8(1):e6-e7. [22 Jan 2025]
- Bagnardi V, Rota M, Botteri E, Tramacere I, Islami F, Fedirko V, et al. Alcohol consumption and site-specific cancer risk: a comprehensive dose-response meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2015;112(3):580-93. [21 Jan 2025]
