“Numerous changes need to be made to raise public awareness of the fact that drinking alcohol raises the risk of several types of cancer. That’s a key conclusion from a new study conducted by an NCI research team. 

The study confirmed that most American adults aren’t aware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. It also found that, even among those who are aware, there’s a belief that it varies by the type of alcohol. For example, more participants were aware of the cancer risks from hard liquor and beer than about the risk from wine, with some participants believing wine lowers your cancer risk.

“All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase cancer risk,” said Andrew Seidenberg, Ph.D., who led the study while he was a cancer prevention fellow at NCI. “Unfortunately, there have been very few attempts at educating the public about the alcohol–cancer link. Research is needed to identify what are the best messages and what are the best [ways] to communicate these messages.” 

To conduct the study, Dr. Seidenberg, along with William Klein, Ph.D., associate director of NCI’s Behavioral Research Program, and their colleagues looked at responses to an annual health knowledge survey of US adults. The findings were published December 1 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

The study’s findings are important, Dr. Klein said, because they help to “document gaps in awareness that, if addressed, can support system-level efforts to reduce the health impact of alcohol such as higher regulation and changes in social norms.”

Noelle LoConte, M.D., an oncologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies alcohol and cancer risk, said that these findings confirm what doctors have long observed. 

“One of the most common statements I get when I ask people if they drink is, ‘Well, I only drink beer,’” implying that there is a distinction between beer and liquor in terms of their cancer risks, said Dr. LoConte, who was not involved in the study. “This study gets to the root of where that belief maybe comes from, that hard liquor is worse for you in some way.”

Researchers and health professionals can do more to help break down these misconceptions, Dr. LoConte added. “We need to really make sure that we reinforce the message that all alcohol increases cancer risk,” she said.”

Read further from the National Cancer Institute (USA, 2023)