Only 21% of women know the link between alcohol and breast cancer

European countries should do more for breast cancer information and prevention. On the continent, barely more than one in five women know that alcohol is a risk factor for the disease that makes it a “major” health problem in the region, the European branch of the World Organization for Health (WHO) warned this Friday.

“21% of women in 14 European countries are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer. Awareness is even lower among men: only 10% know the link,” warns WHO-Europe, which brings together 53 countries and extends to Central Asia.

Risk even with low alcohol consumption

On the old continent, 600,000 cases of breast cancer were reported in 2022. “For women in Europe, breast cancer is the main cancer caused by alcohol, representing 66% of cancer cases attributable to alcohol. “Alcohol”, notes the UN. Organization Alcohol specifically affects estrogen levels which play a role in the development of many breast cancers. Even relatively small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk, WHO warns.

“More than half of alcohol-attributable breast cancer cases in Europe are not due to excessive alcohol consumption, and a third of new annual cases are due to consumption of two small glasses of wine per day,” according to the institute. So it is important to change drinking habits across Europe, which have not changed since 2010, thanks to new public policies, she recalls.

Our file on breast cancer

According to the WHO, breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer, with 2.3 million cases worldwide in 2022. Studies presented by its European branch include Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Estonia, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.