Drink And Cancer Warnings Not Being Heeded

More than half of all Scots remain unaware of the link between drinking and cancer, a survey has found.

The poll for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) uncovered widespread ignorance about the lifestyle causes of the country’s biggest killer disease. Its results came days after figures revealed a steep rise across the UK in cancers linked to lifestyle.

Cancer Research UK said there had been a marked increase in cancers related to alcohol, smoking, obesity, and too much exposure to the sun.

The WCRF poll discovered Scots were marginally better informed about the risks than people elsewhere in Britain, perhaps as a result of long-standing public health campaigns. Scots, however, also suffer some of the highest incidences of the disease.

Some 41% of Scots interviewed said they were unaware that a bad diet had an impact on their chances of developing a cancer and 43% said they did not know obesity was linked with the disease.

Ignorance of lifestyle links to cancer was even higher in England and Wales. Little over one-third of the total UK sample were aware of the connection between alcohol and developing cancer. Nearly a half of all those polled knew of the link between cancer and unhealthy food.

The poll also suggested that the age-group most likely to develop cancer was unaware of lifestyle dangers. Just 28% of those over 55 were aware of the link between alcohol and cancer.

Dr Greg Martin, science and research manager for WCRF, said: “It really is a shame that so many people are not aware enough about how they can reduce their cancer risk. The fact that diet, weight, and physical activity are closely linked to cancer has been well-known in the science community for many years. But unfortunately the message has not been getting through to the general public, and because people do not know the facts, many are dying unnecessarily.

“This is really frustrating, because by making just a few small changes to their lifestyle, people can make a real difference to their cancer risk and also to their long-term quality of life.”

Lucie Galice, general manager of WCRF, said: “As a charity we are committed to spreading the message that healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management can reduce cancer risk but the results of this survey show all too clearly that there is still a long way to go.

“It is a reminder that both the public sector and the voluntary sector need to do better at informing the public that if they are overweight, have a poor diet and are not physically active, then they can be putting themselves at a higher risk of cancer.”

Research has shown that around half of cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyle. Most cases of mouth cancer occur in people who smoke or chew tobacco and regularly drink alcohol.

Experts do not know exactly what causes womb cancer, but overweight and obese women are twice as likely to develop it as women who maintain a healthy weight. Smoking and being overweight is also linked to kidney cancer.

Cases of mouth, womb, and kidney cancers have also shown rapid increases in the past decade.

The figures, based on 1995 to 2004, showed that mouth cancer was up by 23%, womb cancer by 21% and kidney cancer by 14%.

Rates of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, have risen by 43% in the past decade, making it the fastest-rising cancer in the UK.