CANSA points finger at alcohol

CANSA’s message for their 365 Day Health Challenge campaign is that individuals have the power to lower the risk of cancer by making healthy lifestyle choices.

Alcohol, even consumed in small amounts, increases the cancer risk.

According to Elize Joubert, chief executive officer of CANSA, alcohol consumption is associated with significant public health and safety problems, including causing a number of cancers.

“In 1988 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared alcohol a cancer-causing agent to humans and in 2007 and 2009, these findings were confirmed. There’s strong evidence that alcohol causes cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx, liver and oesophagus.

“And there’s also mounting evidence that heavy drinking might be linked to cancer of the pancreas. Furthermore, evidence suggests that drinking alcohol causes stomach and breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. Alcohol can cause weight gain, which also increases the cancer risk. In South Africa, alcohol is considered the most widespread and harmful drug being abused,” she said.

She added that the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (2011) carried out with Grade 8 to 11 learners attending public schools in all nine provinces of South Africa indicated that alcohol usage among the youth is particularly concerning.

Almost half (49 per cent) of these learners responded that they had used alcohol, and 32 per cent had alcohol in the month before the survey. One in four learners reported that they had engaged in binge drinking or had five or more alcoholic drinks on at least one or more days in the month before the survey.

“This demonstrates the levels of these learners’ use of alcohol. The study also found that the higher the grade or age, the more likely it is that they used alcohol.”

“We need healthier future generations, who are able to exercise smart choices. Parents are advised to keep communication channels open between themselves and their children, demonstrate responsible behaviour and how to manage stress in positive ways. They should also talk to them about the disadvantages of alcohol abuse, including that it increases personal vulnerability, cancer risk, and risk of disability and death,” she added.