Overview

• The new guidance calls on European governments to tighten pricing, marketing, and availability rules to reduce alcohol-driven cancers.
• The EU has the highest alcohol consumption globally, and cancer is now the region’s leading cause of death.
• In 2020, alcohol was estimated to cause 111,300 new cancer cases and 93,000 deaths in the EU, led by colorectal (36,900), breast (24,200) and oral cavity (12,400) cancers.
• Nearly 70% of those affected by alcohol-attributable cancers were men, indicating a marked gender disparity.
• WHO reports that preventive policies can deliver measurable gains within about five years, while treatment access remains limited and premature-death costs totaled €4.58 billion in 2018.