The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for a tax tightening on alcohol.
According to modeling published in the scientific journal The Lancet, “it is estimated that 10,700 new cancer cases and 4,850 alcohol-related cancer deaths could be prevented each year in the WHO European region by doubling current taxes. on alcoholic drinks ”, underlines the European branch of the organization.
This represents about 6% of new cases and deaths of cancers linked to alcohol consumption, notes the UN health organization.
A "high potential impact"
According to the latter, "increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages is one of the best measures" to reduce the number of cancer deaths, with "a high potential impact" and "positive results in all countries".
For the WHO, current levels of alcohol taxation remain "low" in many European countries, including within the European Union, where their increase should have one of the strongest impacts.
Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany are the countries that would save the most lives by taking this tax measure, with 725, 680 and 525 deaths respectively avoided, according to its model.
According to the WHO, of the 4.8 million new cases of cancer each year in Europe, 1.4 million, as well as 650,000 deaths, are "linked to alcohol consumption".
Of these, the organization estimates that 180,000 cases and 85,000 deaths are directly caused by alcohol.
If alcohol is linked to seven different types of cancer: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, colorectal, liver, larynx and breast, the number of lives saved by a doubling of taxes would concern in particular breast cancer (1,000 deaths per year) and colorectal cancers (1,700).