Alcohol consumption linked to rise in mouth cancer in the North East
Experts have warned that a contributing factor to the increasing number of cases of mouth cancer in the North East is excessive alcohol consumption.
Research from Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, has revealed that a there has been a 53% increase in the number of alcohol-related mouth and pharyngeal cancer cases in the last ten years.
Statistics from Balance have revealed that 404 cases of mouth cancer were diagnosed in 2013 in the North East, and experts have linked around 30% of these to alcohol consumption. Smoking is another major risk factor for oral cancer, and if you smoke and drink, you’re up to 35 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.
The report also suggested that there has been an increase of 16% in alcohol-related cancer cases in all forms of cancer.
Colin Shevills, the Director of Balance, said that the findings of the study are “worrying”, and has urged people to be aware that alcohol is a poison and should be viewed in the same light as smoking and asbestos when it comes to the risk of cancer.
The North East is not the only region affected by rapidly increasing mouth cancer rates. Cancer Research UK suggests that mouth cancer cases have risen by more than a third in the last decade, with lifestyle factors being the main cause of the increase.
