Alcohol causes cancer, and yet South Africa consistently ranks as one of the hardest drinking nations, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
One has to ask: where are the warnings that alcohol causes cancer, because it would be a lot cheaper to prevent cancer than to cure it? It is estimated that cancer treatment is going to cost the South African taxpayer over R50 billion per annum, so even if you don’t get cancer, you are still going to pay for somebody else’s treatment.
Research proves alcohol causes cancer
The WHO reported that alcohol causes cancer as far back as 1988 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen. These findings were reconfirmed in 2007 and 2012. Decades of research have confirmed that alcohol causes cancer, so there is no doubt that it is a possibility, but a scientific fact.
Alcohol causes cancer, seven and counting
There isn’t any doubt as alcohol has been conclusively linked to seven different types of cancer, including mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon and breast, and evidence suggests that it may be linked to pancreatic and prostate cancer. Media coverage has been scarce because it has been under-reported and often buried within lifestyle content that normalises alcohol with food pairings, recipes, and celebrations.
Paradoxically, some health bodies still recommend alcohol in moderation when it is a known carcinogen.
Alcohol moderation is a lie
People are never told to smoke responsibly; they’re told to stop. Yet, with alcohol, people are reminded that it needs to be consumed responsibly as part of a kilojoule-controlled diet. Alcohol is a carcinogen that doesn’t allow for moderation. One thing that we know about cancer for certain is that it spreads.
South Africa’s heavy drinking
South Africa’s drinking population consumes more than 30 litres of pure alcohol per person per year, which places the country among the heaviest-drinking nations when measured per drinker. Interestingly, it’s not every South African who drinks, but the ones who do treat binge drinking as a competitive sport.
What Alcohol Does to Your DNA
Your body recognises alcohol as a poison, which triggers a chemical reaction to break it down for elimination. The liver converts alcohol into acetaldehyde (another Group 1 carcinogen), which attaches itself to your DNA where it interferes with repair mechanisms at a cellular level. Damaged DNA that the body can’t repair leads to the development of cancer.
Cancer-causing alcohol in a glass
People justify drinking alcohol by saying that everything in moderation, but drinking alcohol is like playing Russian roulette; it’s always fun until it isn’t. According to the World Health Organisation, there is no moderation when it comes to carcinogens.
Alcohol damages health and communities
Alcohol-related harm extends beyond self-harm. It includes physical damage from liver disease, heart problems, brain shrinkage and digestive disorders, to mental health issues like depression, anxiety and addiction. The harm doesn’t stop with the drinker because families bear the brunt of domestic violence, child neglect, and broken relationships. At the same time, communities suffer from road accidents, crime, and the enormous healthcare burden. Even if alcohol isn’t your poison, the consequences certainly are.
Silence that alcohol causes cancer
The alcohol industry knows this science, but they choose not to warn consumers. It seems disingenuous that the alcohol industry only warned people not to drink and drive when they could hail a taxi, or that it could lead to pregnancy complications, but not that it could cause cancer. Taxis and birth control are within the reach of anybody who can afford them, but preventing and treating cancer is more complicated.
Warning needed: alcohol Causes Cancer
The solution is simple: Give people the right to choose by putting clear warning labels on all alcohol products stating that alcohol causes cancer. This isn’t as extreme as banning alcohol, which will only drive it underground, but it does reset the tone of drinking culture. We live in an age of informed consent, and consumers deserve to be fully informed before they buy any alcohol.
Reminder: alcohol causes cancer
Aligning alcohol with a healthy lifestyle is like calling cigarettes a meditation in mindfulness, but it still kills people. We need to do better, because South Africans aren’t making bad choices; they’re making uninformed ones. A clear label that alcohol causes cancer gives everybody the right to choose.
