Middle-age women alerted to link between alcohol and breast cancer

Mar 25 2008

A new study by the Department of Health in the UK, yet to be published, has linked drinking alcohol to breast cancer.

The study says middle-aged women who drink one glass of wine a night increase their risk of breast cancer by 60 per cent.

This alarming news comes along with estimates that as many as 2,000 women every year die from alcohol-related breast cancer, with increasing numbers also suffering from liver cancer and fertility problems related to drink.

Current British government guidelines recommend women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol each week.

But in recent years, the strength of many wines has been increased and wine glasses sizes have also grown, leading to confusion of how many units of alcohol each glass contains; one large glass of wine now estimated to be worth the equivalent of three units.

The study shows that women who consumed more than the recommended level of 14 units a week were at least 60 per cent likely to suffer breast cancer than those who stayed below the limit.

Popular wine glass sizes now means one glass equates to three units per night which adds up to more than 20 units a week.

As a result the government is now launching a £10 million advertising campaign to clamp down on drinking which features images of two wine glasses with no stems to resemble women's breasts, with the aim of educating women about the health risks associated with drinking.

The hard-hitting advertising campaign indicates that too much focus has been placed on teenage binge drinkers and the middle classes now need to be targeted.

The campaign will also emphasise the health impact of drinking instead of focusing almost exclusively on its links with crime and anti-social behaviour.

Alcohol-related deaths in the UK have doubled in the last 10 years and doctors are becoming increasingly concerned at the growing number of women with liver damage, pancreatitis and cirrhosis.

Government figures show that 20 per cent of women in the UK consume between 14 and 35 units a week, which puts them in the hazardous drinkers category.