Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Español
Email

Alcohol

Awareness of Alcohol’s Link to Cancer Lagging

NCI-led study shows changes are needed to increase awareness and overcome misconceptions.

Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx (voice box), liver, and breast. The more you drink, the higher your risk. The risk of cancer is much higher for those who drink alcohol and also use tobacco.

Doctors advise people who drink to do so in moderate amounts. The federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate alcohol drinking as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

It has been suggested that certain substances in red wine, such as resveratrol, have anticancer properties. However, there is no evidence that drinking red wine reduces the risk of cancer.

For more information, see the Alcohol and Cancer Risk  fact sheet.

  • Posted:

If you would like to reproduce some or all of this content, see Reuse of NCI Information for guidance about copyright and permissions. In the case of permitted digital reproduction, please credit the National Cancer Institute as the source and link to the original NCI product using the original product's title; e.g., “Alcohol was originally published by the National Cancer Institute.”

Email