Alcohol and mouth cancer
Alcohol is the second most important risk factor for mouth cancer after tobacco. 75-80% of mouth cancer patients say they frequently drink alcohol.
Smoking and drinking alcohol greatly increases your risk. If you don’t smoke, then how much you drink is the most important risk factor for mouth cancer.
In the UK we’re drinking at dangerous levels
Drinking four or more units of alcohol per day increases your risk of mouth cancer. When you drink heavily, every additional drink increases your risk even more.
Unfortunately, in the UK we’re drinking more and more alcohol. We now drink more than twice as much as we drank fifty years ago. And at least 20% of women and 35% of men are drinking more than the government recommends.
Our guidelines for sensible drinking
If you drink alcohol, follow our guidelines:
- Women should drink less than two units of alcohol each day
- Men should drink less than three units of alcohol each day
Many alcoholic drinks contain more than one unit:
- A pint of premium lager, beer or cider (5% vol) contains three units
- A standard 175ml glass of wine (11-12% vol) contains two units
- A double shot of spirits (40% vol) using the 35ml measure contains three units.
Reducing the amount you drink
One way to find out how much you really drink is to keep an alcohol diary for a few weeks.
You can find tips for cutting down on alcohol in our healthy living section.
There are also many organisations that offer advice on drinking. For more help and advice:
- Call Drinkline on 0800 917 82 82 - freephone, 24 hours a day
- Visit www.downyourdrink.org.uk to check whether you need to cut down and follow an online programme to reduce your alcohol intake.
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