New Study Says A Bottle Of Wine Carries Same Cancer Risk As Half A Pack Of Cigarettes
BOSTON (CBS) - A warning for people who enjoy a daily glass of wine: A new study says drinking a bottle of wine a week may raise the risk of cancer as much as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes.
A bottle of wine a week is less than one drink a day, but researchers in the United Kingdom found that drinking a bottle of wine a week raises the risk of cancer by 1 percent in men and 1.4 percent in women, equivalent to the cancer risk associated with smoking five cigarettes a week in men, 10 cigarettes a week in women. The effect was greater in women largely due to a higher risk of breast cancer.
Researchers say these results should be a reminder to the public that even a daily glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage can promote cancer, especially for women.