Alcohol-related cancer deaths in US have more than doubled over three decades
Study finds just one drink per day could raise risk of disease with impacts extending far beyond liver cancer
TL;DR
- Alcohol-related cancer deaths in the US have more than doubled from 1990 to 2023.
- Even one standard drink per day can increase cancer risk.
- Alcohol is linked to increased death risk from breast, prostate, colon, rectal, stomach, pancreatic, liver, and head and neck cancers.
- Older men experienced the heaviest effects, with a nearly 24% rise in alcohol-related cancer mortality for men aged 55 and older.
- Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
- In 2019, alcohol consumption accounted for about 5% of cancer cases and 4% of cancer deaths in the US.
- Alcohol use is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the US, following tobacco and obesity.