For women, drinking one bottle of wine per week increases the absolute lifetime risk of cancer to the same extent as smoking 10 cigarettes a week, mostly due to an increased risk of breast cancer caused by drinking.
For men, drinking a bottle of wine a week increases the absolute lifetime risk of cancer equivalent to smoking five cigarettes.
This is due to the risk of cancer in parts of the body such as the bowel, liver and oesophagus, according to the team of researchers from the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Bangor University and University of Southampton.
The team estimated that if 1,000 non-smoking men and 1,000 non-smoking women each drank one bottle of wine a week across their lifetime, around 10 men and 14 women would develop cancer.
And if 1,000 men and 1,000 women drank three bottles of wine a week, around 19 men and 36 women could develop cancer as a result.
Source: Jane Kirby, Irish Independent, 28th March 2019
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