As part of Cancer Prevention Action Week 2025, on Wednesday we handed in an open letter and petition, alongside breast cancer survivors Dr Liz O’Riordan and Nikki Bednall, and the Alcohol Health Alliance.

The letter (below) – signed by more than 25 organisations and health experts – and the petition called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government to introduce a National Alcohol Strategy to Prevent Cancer, as part of our Cancer Prevention Action Week (CPAW) activity.

This year, CPAW is highlighting the links between alcohol and cancer – our research shows that most people don’t know that drinking any amount of alcohol increases the risk of 7 types of cancer.

What’s more, around 17,000 new cases every year are down to alcohol – so we’re urging the UK government to introduce a long-overdue National Alcohol Strategy for England – one that tackles alcohol harm head-on through:

• mandatory health warnings highlighting cancer risk
• minimum unit pricing
• marketing restrictions

to reduce consumption, lower cancer risk, and protect lives.

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.

World Cancer Research Fund has responded to the UK government’s first multi-year spending review, where the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, set out departmental budgets over the next 3 years.

Under their Health Mission, the government has committed to shifting from sickness to prevention, affirming that prevention is better than cure. This spending review marks a critical opportunity for the government to set out their investment to this commitment.

In this review, the Chancellor committed:

• £29bn for the day-to-day spending of the NHS to 2028–29.
• £80m per year for tobacco cessation programmes and to support the delivery of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill.
• £10bn in NHS technology and digital transformation by 2028–29.
• £22.6bn per year for research and development by 2029–30, including medical research.

Responding to the spending review, World Cancer Research Fund’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Dr Giota Mitrou, said:

Today the Chancellor reaffirmed Labour’s Health Mission, including their commitment to shift from treatment to prevention. 40% of all cancer cases are preventable: as leading experts in cancer prevention, we know that primary prevention remains the most sustainable and cost-effective way to tackle cancer and other non-communicable diseases.

For example, while we are glad to see that the government will be investing £80m per year to tackle tobacco, we need to see similar efforts applied to obesity and alcohol. The expansion of free school meals is a step in the right direction and the type of action we hope to see in the upcoming 10-year Health Plan.”

> Read our comments on the 10-year Health Plan for England

Alcohol is a proven risk factor for 7 cancer types, and our evidence clearly shows there is no safe level of consumption when it comes to preventing cancer. Each year 17,000 people – 46 people every day – are diagnosed with a cancer caused by alcohol.

Alcohol deaths in England reached nearly 10,500 in 2023, a massive 42% increase since 2019. Despite these tragic statistics, alcohol policy across the UK remains woefully inadequate, doing very little to mitigate its significant harms, including cancer, and the immense burden it places on the NHS.

Making the case for change

Which cancers are linked to alcohol?

That’s why this year, our flagship campaign – Cancer Prevention Action Week – focuses on the links between alcohol and cancer, aiming to ensure that everyone can make informed decisions about their alcohol consumption. While raising awareness is important, it must be combined with evidenced-based polices that enable and support people to make healthier choices.

As many aspects of alcohol policy are the responsibility of the devolved administrations, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all have alcohol strategies in place. In contrast, England has not had a National Alcohol Strategy since 2012.

We’re calling on the UK government to introduce a long overdue National Alcohol Strategy for England without delay. The Strategy must introduce policies on labelling, pricing and marketing – 3 interventions that have strong evidence of positive impact. Crucially, it must also remain independent of industry influence.

1) Labelling

Despite being carcinogenic, alcohol is exempt from mandatory health warning labels. Unlike other food and drinks, alcohol labels are also not required to include information on nutritional content or calories. As the Alcohol Health Alliance puts it, there is more product information on a bottle of orange juice than on a bottle of beer. In fact, alcoholic drinks only have to display to display minimal information such as the name, strength as alcohol by volume (but only if over 1.2%), allergen information and the best before date (if the drink’s strength is under 10%). Even pregnancy and drink driving warnings are voluntary.

Consumers have a right to know about every product’s health risks and harms. Introducing health warning labels on alcohol that highlight cancer risk, alongside information on nutrition and calories, is an easy and effective way to ensure this. Evidence shows that effective labelling can prompt behaviour change and lead to reduced consumption.

For labelling to be effective, it must be clear, plain, distinct and mandatory. Additionally, labels should not include ambiguous language such as “drink responsibly”. Our policy position on alcohol explains that the use of QR codes to link to health information must be prohibited as, rather than informing people about risks, they provide marketing opportunities by redirecting consumers to producers’ websites.

2) Pricing

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) has been introduced in Scotland and Wales, but not in England or Northern Ireland. It sets a baseline price at which a unit of alcohol can be sold and targets cheap, strong alcohol that is often consumed by adolescents and other vulnerable groups.

Public Health Scotland’s review indicates that MUP has reduced alcohol-specific deaths by 13% and averted over 800 hospitals admissions every year since its introduction in 2012. MUP was found to have the most impact on those living in the 40% most deprived areas of Scotland, helping to reduce health inequalities. The Welsh government has also seen the benefits of MUP, which it introduced in 2020. Northern Ireland has consulted on proposals to introduce MUP.

England must follow suit, introducing MUP at 65p and adjusted for inflation thereafter. Without MUP in England, a 2.5 litre bottle of cider containing 19 units of alcohol can be bought for as little at £5.25. Under a 65p minimum unit price, this would rise to £12.19. Industry opposes MUP, arguing that it would damage sales in pubs and restaurants. However, most alcohol sold in these settings is already above minimum unit prices.

3) Marketing restrictions

Marketing restrictions on alcohol remain woefully inadequate. Advertising regulations prohibit linking alcohol with youth, irresponsible behaviour or social success, but enforcement is ineffective. The Advertising Standards Agency has no power to issue fines or sanctions, and often rules on complaints only after a campaign has ended. Like labelling, advertising is not a devolved issue, meaning the picture across the UK is largely the same.

Alcohol advertising is widespread, despite strong evidence linking exposure to alcohol marketing with young people drinking more and at an earlier age. The UK’s insufficient restrictions must be addressed by classifying alcohol as an “unhealthy product” under high fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) marketing restrictions. This would limit its promotion, particularly to vulnerable populations including children and adolescents.

The time to act is now

No family should have to endure the devastating trauma of alcohol-related cancer. Yet, as a result of the rise in high-risk drinking since the coronavirus pandemic, the UK could see more than 18,000 additional cancer cases by 2035.

Join us this Cancer Prevention Action Week to demand action. Sign and share our petition today, calling for a National Alcohol Strategy for England.

• The Alcohol Health Alliance, which we are a member of, has more information on MUP, labelling and marketing restrictions.