Cancer charity tells wine drinkers to go for lower-strength option

People who have a large (250 ml) glass of wine every day could reduce their bowel cancer risk by about seven per cent through switching from wine with an alcohol content of 14 per cent to one of 10 per cent, said the World Cancer Research Fund.

Bowel cancer affects around 37,000 people a year in the UK.

The fund said there was "strong evidence" that switching would lower the threat of breast cancer, liver cancer, oesophageal cancer and cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx at a "similar" rate.

It said an estimated 20,000 cases of cancer diagnosed every year were linked to alcohol.

Its science programme manager Dr Rachel Thompson said: "From a cancer prevention point of view it is best not to drink at all. But we have to be realistic and the fact is that many people in the UK enjoy a drink and see it as part of their social life.

"If you drink quite a lot at the moment, the best advice is to reduce the number of drinks you have.

"But if people do not want to do this, switching to a lower alcohol alternative is still something positive they can do. Making this change might seem quite minor do, but it could have a real impact on cancer risk. If everyone who drinks 14 per cent wine at the moment switched to lower-alcohol wine tomorrow, for example, it is likely hundreds of cancer cases in the UK a year could be prevented."

Dr Thompson said lower-alcohol wines were more difficult to find in high street stores but it was a lifestyle change that could make a long-term difference.

She added: "It will hopefully become easier to find lower-alcohol drinks because the food and drink industry does now seem to be taking the issue more seriously.

"But there is still much more it should be doing. We would like to see supermarkets and off-licenses make it easier for their customers to choose less unhealthy options."

The charity said people could also reduce their cancer risk by switching from premium strength lagers to weaker ones.