Study: Alcohol industry distorts cancer risk

The alcohol industry uses denial, distortion and distraction to mislead people about the risks of developing cancer from drinking, often employing similar tactics to those of the tobacco industry, a study said. Drinks industry organisations often present the relationship between alcohol and cancer as highly complex, implying there is no clear evidence of a consistent link, said the study led by scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Sweden's Karolinska Institutet. Other strategies include denying any relationship exists, or saying inaccurately that there is no risk with moderate drinking, the study found.

The industry also seeks to mention a wide range of other real and potential cancer risk factors in an effort to present alcohol as just one of many, it added. The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, which represents large brewers and distillers including Anheuser-Busch InBev and Diageo, said it disagreed with the study's conclusions. "We ... stand by the information that we publish on drinking and health," it said. The World Health Organization says drinking alcohol is a well-established risk factor for a range of cancers, including tumours of the mouth, liver, breast and colon and bowel. And the risk of cancer rises with levels of alcohol consumed. The research team behind study analysed the information relating to cancer on the websites and documents of nearly 30 alcohol industry organisations around the world between September 2016 and December 2016.

"The weight of scientific evidence is clear - drinking alcohol increases the risk of some of the most common forms of cancer," said Mark Petticrew, a professor of public Health at the LSHTM who co-led the study.