A CAMPAIGN has been launched by the Foundation for Alcohol Research Education (FARE) to raise awareness to the link between alcohol use and cancer. 

People in the ACT have a low awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer, according to FARE’s CEO Caterina Giorgi, with only 27 per cent aware of the link between alcohol and breast cancer, 46 per cent between alcohol and colon cancer, and 28 per cent between alcohol and cancers of the head and neck.*

Ms Giorgi says the “Reduce your Risk” campaign aims to increase awareness of the link between alcohol use and cancer, and the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol (Alcohol Guidelines).

“There are a lot of mixed messages about the health impacts of alcohol, and this means that many of us are unaware that alcohol is a cause of a range of cancers,” Ms Giorgi said.

“This campaign aims to increase awareness among the community and to provide information on how to reduce their risk of cancer, by reducing alcohol use.

“The less you drink, the lower the risk of developing cancer in the mouth, throat, breast, liver and bowel.”

The Alcohol Guidelines advise that people who drink alcohol have no more than 10 standard drinks in a week, and no more than four standard drinks on any day.

* The ACT Health Promotion Study was administered via Computer Assisted Computer Interviewing (CATI) among a sample of 502 respondents 18-65 years of age who currently live in the ACT.