Brits find it harder to talk about alcohol than sex or money 

Only 16% of us in the UK feel at ease discussing our relationship with alcohol, ranking it among the least talked about topics – less so than sex (17%) and money (29%), according to our poll.

We’re emphasising the connection between alcohol and cancer as part of Cancer Prevention Action Week, which starts today. We have strong evidence that alcohol increases the risk of 7 cancers:

• Breast
• Bowel
• Head and neck
• Oesophageal
• Liver
• Stomach

Alcoholic drinks are also high in calories and often high in sugar, increasing the risk of gaining weight. Living with overweight or obesity increases the risk of at least 13 types of cancer.

We surveyed 2,000 people to gain insights into Britain’s understanding of alcohol and cancer risks. The findings reveal consistent misconceptions regarding alcohol’s dangers. Alarmingly, 25% of respondents did not associate any health risks with alcohol, and only 1 in 14 mentioned cancers as a risk when asked unprompted.

These misconceptions may hinder our ability to have informed conversations about alcohol. About 4% of cancer cases in the UK are attributed to alcohol, meaning that, each year, around 17,000 people are diagnosed with cancer caused by alcohol. Adding to this immeasurable human cost is the economic burden. Alcohol-related cancers cost the NHS around £100m every year.

We need a National Alcohol Strategy

We support clearer public health messaging to raise awareness of the real dangers of alcohol consumption, as well as other measures such as health warning labels. Alongside many other health organisations in the UK, we’re urging the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to implement a National Alcohol Strategy for England.

Nikki Bednall is a World Cancer Research Fund Supporter and breast cancer survivor. She said: “I always thought drinking a few times a week was fine. I never knew it could raise my cancer risk. If I’d known earlier, I might have made different choices. Though hindsight is easy, my perspective has changed with the knowledge that came after my diagnosis.”

Drinking habits in the UK paint a concerning picture in comparison with other nations. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2021 data showed that alcohol consumption in the UK was 10 litres per capita – 16% more than the OECD average of 8.6 litres.

Covid led to an increase in the number of high-risk drinks, with the heaviest drinkers increasing their consumption the most. These changes have persisted beyond the national lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, and subsequently there has been a year-on-year rise in alcohol-specific deaths, which reached an all-time high of 10,473 in 2023.

The research was conducted by Opinion Matters, among a sample of 2,000 nationally representative UK adults. The data was collected between 21.03.2025–24.03.2025.