That’s for men that don’t smoke, says the study published in BMC Public Health, which estimates the increased cancer risk at 1%. For women the risk is higher — 1.4% — the study says.
“The overall absolute increase in cancer risk for one bottle of wine per week equals that of five cigarettes per week” for men or 10 cigarettes a week for women. Gender differences result from levels of moderate drinking leading to a 0.8% absolute risk of breast cancer in female non-smokers.
You can expect to see anti-alcohol activists use the study to “communicate that moderate levels of drinking are an important public health risk for women,” the study suggests, adding that “the risk for men, equivalent to five cigarettes a week, are also of note.”
It’s not news that alcohol consumption can result in a greater risk of cancer, and especially of breast cancer. Research generally has shown moderate consumption of wine reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans – far more than cancer.
The study’s authors say they hope to change the perception that “alcohol is generally perceived as being less harmful” than cigarettes “particularly in terms of cancer, despite being directly linked to carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectum, liver and breast.”
Ignoring a number of studies that indicate moderate wine consumption is associated with fewer heart attacks – the No. 1 killer of Americans – the study cites work by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research – and asserts that “there is now robust evidence that low levels of alcohol intake do not provide any protective health benefits.”
The study authors said they want to be “absolutely clear that this study is not saying that drinking alcohol in moderation is in any way equivalent to smoking. Smoking kills up to two thirds of its users, and cancer is just one of the many serious health consequences. This study purely addresses cancer risk in isolation.”
Still, it says, “the benefits of increasing public awareness of the risks of moderate drinking could therefore be immense. It is important to educate women that an increased risk of breast cancer is not restricted to hazardous and harmful drinkers, and the messaging needs to be simple, relevant and memorable.”