Red wine is not the exception

Drinking alcohol raises the risk of several kinds of cancer:

• Mouth
• Throat (pharynx)
• Voice box (larynx)
• Oesophagus
• Colon and rectum
• Liver
• Breast, in women

Some studies show that three or more drinks a day raises the risk of
stomach and pancreatic cancers, and alcohol **may also increase prostate
cancer risk**.

The claim people want to be wrong

All kinds of drinks that contain alcohol increase the risk of cancer.

Red wine included. There is no drink that is exempt, and the popular idea that
wine occupies a different category from spirits does not survive this list.

Drinking less alcohol is better for your health than drinking more — which
is the other half, and a more useful framing than abstinence-or-nothing.

How alcohol causes cancer

Two mechanisms, and they explain the spread of sites above:

• **It disrupts cell cycles, increases chronic inflammation, and damages
  DNA.** DNA is the cell's instruction manual; a cell with damaged
  instructions can grow out of control.
• It increases hormone levels, including oestrogen — and oestrogen plays a
  role in the development of breast cancer.

The first is general, which is why the affected sites run from mouth to colon.
The second is specific, and it is why breast cancer appears on a list that is
otherwise about the digestive tract.

The guidance

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal
drinking age choose not to drink alcohol, or to drink in moderation —
2 drinks or fewer a day for men, 1 or fewer for women.

And one practical check: **if you take prescription medicine, including cancer
treatment, ask your doctor whether it is safe to drink.**

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.