Title – Drink a day increases cancer riskSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date –24th February 2009
Alcohol has long been associated with the negative effects it has on health, but this is occasionally interspersed with report that small quantities of alcohol can actually be good for you; this has led to a certain degree of confusion.
There is no doubt that excessive consumption does have very negative effects on health and a knock-on effect on local communities. Where the excess represents chronic drinking or alcoholism, the burden on local services such as the police and health services can also be significant.
People must remain largely responsible for their own levels of alcohol consumption. For them to be able to remain responsible, it is important that they have the facts available allowing them to make an informed judgement.
This latest report outlines the increased risk from cancer on those who drink alcohol regularly, this is adding to the known risks of excessive alcohol consumption including; social exclusion, high blood pressure, strokes, liver damage / cirrhosis, brain damage, heart disease and ultimately death. These have however traditionally been linked to excessive alcohol consumption over a short (binge drinking) or longer (chronic drinking or alcoholism); this latest study which shows a significant increase in the instances of cancer associated with significantly lower consumption, but more regular consumption.
At this time the report has not led to a rethink of the current limits on safe alcohol consumption as outlined by the governments ‘unit’ system (
Alcohol Units Guide) which recommends 3-4 units for men per day (21 per week) and 2-3 units for women per day (14 per week); but clearly a conservative approach to these drinking limits remains the recommendation.Date –24th February 2009
Alcohol has long been associated with the negative effects it has on health, but this is occasionally interspersed with report that small quantities of alcohol can actually be good for you; this has led to a certain degree of confusion.
There is no doubt that excessive consumption does have very negative effects on health and a knock-on effect on local communities. Where the excess represents chronic drinking or alcoholism, the burden on local services such as the police and health services can also be significant.
People must remain largely responsible for their own levels of alcohol consumption. For them to be able to remain responsible, it is important that they have the facts available allowing them to make an informed judgement.
This latest report outlines the increased risk from cancer on those who drink alcohol regularly, this is adding to the known risks of excessive alcohol consumption including; social exclusion, high blood pressure, strokes, liver damage / cirrhosis, brain damage, heart disease and ultimately death. These have however traditionally been linked to excessive alcohol consumption over a short (binge drinking) or longer (chronic drinking or alcoholism); this latest study which shows a significant increase in the instances of cancer associated with significantly lower consumption, but more regular consumption.
At this time the report has not led to a rethink of the current limits on safe alcohol consumption as outlined by the governments ‘unit’ system (
For alcohol retailers these limits have always been seen as somewhat of a barrier to customer’s choice and the fine line between informing customers and patronising them. It is not the duty of the Licensed Retail Sector to thrust these limits and the dangers in the face of their customers, but it is their duty to Retail Alcohol Responsibly and provide information when it is requested. It is their duty to limit individual’s consumption when it becomes excessive on a single session, to protect the customer and other customers from the detrimental effects of excessive alcohol consumption and to promote alcohol with a view to increasing customer numbers rather than increasing the consumption of individual customers.
At Beyond The Blue we run a number of courses for those working in the licensed retail sector to help them sell alcohol more responsibly. These include; The Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR) designed for front-line staff to help them meet their statutory requirements; The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) which qualifies candidates to apply for their personal licence; Our Conflict Management and Resolution (CMR) course compliments these courses to help employees deal with Workplace Violence and alcohol related disorder.
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