Current alcohol consumption guidelines are inadequate for the prevention of cancer, and new international guidelines are needed, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Guidelines in some countries aren’t currently based on long-term evidence – most are based on studies that assessed the short-term effects of alcohol, such as social and psychological issues, and weren’t designed around disease prevention.
Several studies have warned of the link between alcohol and cancers in the mouth, throat, esophagus, liver, colon-rectum and breast cancers. Based on the evidence, "there is no level of alcohol consumption for which cancer risk is null."
"On the whole, alcohol is considered an avoidable risk factor for cancer incidence and, more generally, for the global burden of disease," said study co-author Dr. Paule Latino-Martel of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research.
"Although guidelines are currently practical for health professionals and health authorities, the time has come to reconsider them using a scientific basis independent of any cultural and economic considerations and to discuss the eventuality of abandoning them," conclude the authors.
"Considering our current knowledge of the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk, national health authorities should be aware of the possible legal consequences of promoting drinking guidelines that allow consumers to believe that drinking at low or moderate levels is without risk."
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