Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer in Australia, contributing to more than 5,800 cancer cases every year.
While some cancer risk factors like age and genetics are beyond a person's control, others, such as how much alcohol you consume can be managed. That's why the Cancer Institute NSW has launched an innovative Alcohol and Cancer Risk Tool.
What is the Alcohol and Cancer Risk Tool?
The tool uses data from the Daffodil Centre and shows how your drinking impacts your lifetime cancer risk. By entering your age, gender, and how many standard drinks you drink in a week you'll see how it affects your long-term health risks for different cancers.
It takes less than a minutes to complete and is especially relevant for adults over 45 as research shows that the risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer increases by 10% for every seven standard drinks consumed per week.
Why is this important?
Alcohol contains ethanol, a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category as tobacco. When your body breaks down ethanol, it produces toxic chemicals that can damage DNA and lead to cancer.
There's no completely safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer risk, and every drink adds to your lifetime risk.
Alcohol is linked to eight different types of cancer, including:
- Mouth, throat, and oesophagus
- Liver
- Bowel
- Female breast cancer
Even small amounts of alcohol increase your risk, and the more you drink over time, the higher your risk becomes.
What does the tool offer?
- Personalised risk assessment based on how much you're drinking, gender and age.
- Education on what a standard drink is and how to measure them accurately.
- Tips to reduce alcohol consumption to help you follow the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol, developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The guidelines recommend:
For Healthy Adults
- To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
For Young People under 18
- To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol.
For Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
- To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby.
Why use it?
By understanding your risk, you can take steps to reduce it, whether that means cutting back on alcohol or making lifestyle changes. The less alcohol you drink can count toward lowering your cancer risk.
Need Support?Try the
Alcohol and Cancer Risk Tool now.
Free, confidential help is available 24/7:
- Alcohol and Drug Information Service (ADIS): Call 1800 250 015
- Family Drug Support: Call 1300 368 186
You can also start a Web Chat with an ADIS counsellor online, Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5pm. Counsellors provide information, referrals, crisis support, and guidance whenever you need it.
