Alcohol: leading cause of 7 cancers
PSNews- Alcohol may cause cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectal and liver to people as well as breast cancer to women. The more people drink, the greater the risk of cancer they may face.
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| Alcohol is to blame for 7 common types of cancers. Photo for illustration |
This information is provided by the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health - MOH) at the workshop on preventing harms of alcohol and cancer, organized by the Department of Preventive Medicine in collaboration with the Cancer Research Institute On April 19, in Hanoi.
A survey conducted by the MOH shows that 77.3% of men and 11% of women drink alcohol as their habit, said Dr. Truong Dinh Bac, Deputy Head of the Preventive Medicine Department. Of them, 44.2% of men and 1.2% of women drink a dangerous level amount of alcohol. Ethanol in alcohol is a carcinogen for humans.
Alcohol is one of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases, including cancer. The development of cancer usually occurs after a person starts drinking for 2 years and more, even after he or she stopped drinking.
It is estimated that Vietnam has 100,000 to 150,000 new cancer cases each year and about 75,000 deaths from cancer, according to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Huong, Deputy Head of the Cancer Research Institute. By 2020, Vietnam is expected to have nearly 200,000 new cases of cancer. The causes of cancer may vary, but a group of factors related to eating, drinking, inadequate diet and unsafe food.
According to Dr. Le Dinh Tung, at the Subject of Biology of the Hanoi Medical University, results of health surveys show that the rate of women drinking alcohol is on the rise. The more educated and the wealthier women are, the more likely they are to contract bad habits. The children of alcoholics have the possibility to become hard drinkers 3-4 times higher than non-alcoholic drinkers’ children.
The risk of alcohol-related cancers in Vietnam is significant, as Dr. Truong Dinh Bac said, and the alcohol consumption in Vietnam is currently the highest in Southeast Asia, behind only Japan and China in the region. Vietnam consumes 200 million liters and more than 3 billion liters of beer per year.
In particular, young people who start drinking before the age of 15 can have five times as many problems from alcohol as people starting drinking at 21years old. Youngsters starting drinking alcohol at early ages have four times more possibility of being alcohol addicts; six times more possibility of violence after drinking; six times more possibility of road accidents; and five times more of injury, than normal people.
The Ministry of Health recommends that in order to reduce the risk of cancer and other related illnesses, people should not drink alcohol, or if they drink, they should control the intake. Additionally, people should not drink alcohol while taking drugs reacting with alcohol or suffering the diseases to be worsened by alcohol. Pregnant or feeding women must not drink alcohol as this harms the fetus and the baby.
