Most Americans not aware that alcohol ups cancer risk: Survey

New York, Nov 23 : Despite the warning that drinking alcohol can lead to cancer risk, less than half of Americans know that regularly drinking alcohol increases the risk of later developing cancer.

According to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, although 40 per cent of survey respondents were aware that regularly consuming alcohol increases the chance of later developing cancer, 40 per cent were not sure whether that is true, and 20 per cent reported inaccurate beliefs (either that it would have no effect or that it would decrease the chance of developing cancer).

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that you can “lower your risk for cancer by drinking less alcohol or not drinking at all”.

The CDC reports that more than half of US adults drink alcohol, 17 per cent binge drink, and 6 per cent drink heavily.

According to the survey, alcohol consumption carries significant health risks is backed by systematic reviews as well as meta-analyses focused on the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of death from any cause.

“Public health messages about the risks associated with drinking alcohol have to overcome the effects of decades of sophisticated marketing and positive media portrayals,” said Patrick E. Jamieson, who directs APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute.

The survey data come from the 21st wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,744 US adults. To account for attrition, small replenishment samples were added over time using a random probability sampling design.

The policy centre has been tracking the American public’s knowledge, beliefs and behaviors regarding vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other consequential health issues through this survey panel over the past three-and-a-half years.