“At least one in three cancer cases could be prevented and the number of cancer deaths could be reduced significantly by choosing a cancer-smart lifestyle.

Each year, more than 13,000 cancer deaths (in Australia) are due to smoking, sun exposure, poor diet, alcohol, inadequate exercise or being overweight.

Fortunately, there are a number of simple lifestyle changes you can make to help reduce your risk of cancer.”

“There is convincing evidence that drinking any type of alcohol (beer, wine or spirits) increases the risk of cancers of the bowel, breast, mouth, throat, voice box, oesophagus (food pipe) and liver. The risk is even higher for some of these cancers in smokers who consume alcohol.

Even drinking small amounts of alcohol increases your cancer risk. The more you drink, the greater the risk. If you choose to drink, we recommend you follow the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines and limit your intake to no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. Children and people under the age of 18 should not drink alcohol to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol.

Alcohol is high in energy (kilojoules or calories) and can easily contribute to weight gain – having overweight or obesity is also associated with a higher cancer risk.”

Read further from Cancer Council (Australia, 2023)