Surge in alcohol related cancers

The number of alcohol-related cancers in England has increased sharply in the last decade, new figures show.

The figures, obtained from parliamentary questions by the Liberal Democrats, revealed the number of people diagnosed with oral cancers has risen from 3,225 in 1997 to almost 5,000 a year today, an increase of 53%.

Over the same period, the number of people diagnosed with cancer of the gullet (oesophagus) jumped from 5,397 to 6,487, an increase of 20%.

Around three quarters of oral cancers are blamed on smoking and drinking alcohol. As smoking is declining in the UK, drinking alcohol in ever increasing amounts is thought to be behind the current rise.

Oral cancers cause around 1800 deaths in the UK each year.

The figures also showed an increase in other cancers linked to alcohol consumption. New cases of liver, breast and colorectal cancers also rose during the same period.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Don Foster commented in the Daily Mail: "Excessive drinking has been on the rise for years, and these shocking figures show how dramatically the health problems of booze Britain are escalating.

"Ministers cannot turn a blind eye to the terrible problems alcohol is causing."

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This article was published on Mon 7 December 2009