“The best way to reduce the impact of cancer in Australia is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. By changing behaviour and lifestyle people can greatly reduce their risk of a cancer diagnosis.

Helping people understand how to prevent cancer by reducing alcohol use was the focus of a national research project conducted on behalf of Cancer Council , VicHealth and the Foundation of Alcohol Research and Education (FARE).

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) drafted new guidelines intended to support Australians to reduce the health risks associated with alcohol. Alcohol is a Class 1 carcinogen and any amount of alcohol increases the risk of seven types of cancer with risk increasing with higher levels of consumption. The question for the research team was: ‘How are people going to interpret the draft guidelines and will it encourage a change in behaviour that helps to reduce alcohol-related cancers?’”

Learn more from Cancer Council Australia

Find more about reasons and ways to limit alcohol.