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Graphic shows alcohol related cancers and alcohol consumption by continent.
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MEDICAL

Europe’s risk of alcohol-related cancer

By Duncan Mil

July 5, 2017 - Europe’s drinking habits are putting its people at a higher risk of cancer, a report by the United European Gastroenterology group finds. Europeans drink more alcohol than people on any other continent.

The group analyzed data collated by the World Health Organization, which shows that Europeans drink an average of 11.2 litres of alcohol per year — the equivalent of just under two drinks a day — the threshold that significantly increases the risk of being diagnosed with either bowel or oesophageal cancer.

The UK, alongside Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary typically have 2.1 drinks a day, which equates to 12.3 litres of pure alcohol per year.

Lithuania holds the crown of Europe’s heaviest drinkers, with average consumption of 3.2 drinks a day (18.2 litres of alcohol), followed by the Czech Republic and Romania, whose citizens have 2.4 drinks daily (13.7 litres of alcohol).

Russian per capita drinking rates have fallen from 12.4 litres per year in 2007 to 10.1 litres in 2014.

The WHO attributes almost one in every four deaths from gastrointestinal diseases to alcohol consumption, according to a 2014 report.

Link to EurekAlert report

Sources
PUBLISHED: 05/07/2017; STORY: Graphic News
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