A comparison of population cancer risks between alcohol and tobacco
Using previously published resources reporting lifetime cancer risk, alcohol and tobacco attributable fractions and relative risk data for low to moderate levels of drinking and smoking, we have been able to estimate the approximate absolute lifetime risk of cancer in a non-smoking population, associated with moderate levels of alcohol consumption, and derive a cigarette equivalent in terms of harm. While the association between hazardous drinking and breast cancer is well established [12, 14], a number of studies have highlighted a risk with low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption [14, 16, 40, 41]. The best data available to us on the RR of cancer attributable to moderate levels of alcohol (ten units per week) were for consumption of less than 19 g per day, an average of 8.8 units per week if normally distributed.