Chief Medical Officer says drinking alcohol raises cancer risk

Wine

The UK's chief medical officers say new research shows drinking any amount of alcohol can increase the risk of cancer.

New guidelines say there is no such thing as a safe level of drinking.

The new advice says men and women who drink regularly should consume no more than 14 units a week - equivalent to six pints of beer or seven glasses of wine.

Pregnant women should not drink at all.

It also says if people drink, it should be moderately over three or more days and that some days should be alcohol-free.

People should not "save up" their units and drink them all in one or two goes. Heavy drinking sessions increase the risk of accidents and injury.

Chief Medical Officer for England Dame Sally Davies said: "Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone, but if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week it keeps the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low.

"What we are aiming to do with these guidelines is give the public the latest and most up to date scientific information so that they can make informed decisions about their own drinking and the level of risk they are prepared to take.

"People who have one or two heavy drinking sessions each week increase the risk of death from long term illnesses and accidents and injuries."

The 14-unit limit has been chosen because at that point, your drinking leads to a 1% risk of dying from alcohol-related causes.

This has been deemed to be an acceptable level of risk as it is approximately the same risk that someone has when they do an every day task such as driving a car.