Cancer because of alcohol: Experts call for a price increase - and show a clear calculation

Created: 09/18/2022, 05:00

By: Stefanie Fischhaber

Every year, around 20,000 people develop cancer as a result of their alcohol consumption.

Experts are therefore calling on politicians to adopt stricter rules.

They want a price increase.

Munich - The planned legalization of cannabis is being hotly debated in Germany.

Opponents of the traffic light plans worry about the consequences of consumption.

The legal drug alcohol and its consequences are less heatedly debated.

But every 20th death from cancer is a result of alcohol consumption.

Cancer experts are therefore calling for a price increase for the drug.

Alcohol study shows: tens of thousands of cancer cases can be traced back to alcohol consumption

Every year, around 20,000 people develop cancer as a result of their alcohol consumption.

This emerges from the current alcohol atlas.

"Alcohol is a cell toxin that can cause cancer, among other things," warned Thomas Seufferlein, President of the German Cancer Society.

There is no "safe" alcohol consumption.

The amount and frequency of consumption are relevant to the risk of cancer, which is why regulation is necessary.

According to a study, people under the age of 40 should not drink alcohol at all.

Increased alcohol consumption is a risk factor for numerous cancers such as oral cavity cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, larynx cancer and breast cancer in women.

Colorectal cancer accounts for the largest proportion of all alcohol-related cancer cases, at around 45 percent.

Exactly how the ethanol contained in alcoholic beverages promotes the development of cancer is still being researched.

It is assumed that various substances that are produced when ethanol is broken down in the body play a role.

Alcohol is carcinogenic.

Experts are therefore calling for stricter measures against consumption.

(Iconic image) © Wolfgang Maria Weber/ Imago

Experts estimate that around 13,600 cancer cases in men and 7,900 in women in 2020 were directly attributable to alcohol.

That is around four percent of all cancer cases.

Around 16 percent of adult men and 11 percent of adult women who drink alcohol weekly consume risky amounts.

High number of cancer patients from alcohol: Experts call for stricter measures

The German Cancer Aid, the German Cancer Research Center and the German Cancer Society therefore spoke out in favor of a higher tax on alcohol, restrictions on advertising and an increase in the sales age to 18 years.

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These are "important political decisions to reduce alcohol consumption and promote health-promoting behavior," explained Michael Baumann, CEO of the German Cancer Research Center.

Gerd Nettekoven, CEO of German Cancer Aid, also sees politics as having a duty to “create framework conditions that promote a healthy lifestyle”.

Increasing the price of alcohol would also be economically worthwhile: according to the Federal Statistical Office, the federal government takes in 2.1 million euros a year from the alcohol tax.

The alcohol tax is currently 13.03 euros per liter of pure alcohol.

On the other hand, there are indirect costs of 57 billion euros that are incurred by the health system as a result of alcohol consumption, for example due to resource shortages.