Alcohol is linked to one in five breast cancer deaths

Stark warning as Scottish doctors report alcohol is linked to one in five breast cancer deaths One in five Scottish breast cancer cases is caused by alcohol – and there is no ‘safe’ limit to avoid the risk. The warning comes amid a ‘silent epidemic’ of women drinking to excess. The high level of consumption north of the Border has seen the number of new breast cancer cases linked directly with alcohol soar in the past decade.
Almost 4,500 women in Scotland are diagnosed with the disease each year. Now, experts have warned that as many as a fifth of those are caused by booze.
Career women who enjoy a ‘Sex and the City’-type lifestyle are among those who are drinking to  hazardous levels.
The Scottish Government has embarked on a series of multi-million pound campaigns in a bid to detect cancer early and encourage women, including middle-class women, to drink less.
But last night experts said there was no safe recommended intake for women if they wanted to reduce their chances of  developing the disease.
It comes as startling figures show that alcohol is responsible for one in five cases of breast cancer.
Put simply, if alcohol were removed from the Scottish population, 20 per cent of breast cancers would be prevented.
Doctors added that the incidence of breast cancer has also increased by about 10 per cent in recent years.
The country’s senior medics are warning that an increase in alcohol consumption and a rising ‘ladette culture’ is taking a deadly toll on women.
Dr David Morrison, director of the West of Scotland Cancer Surveillance Unit, said: ‘Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women and the number goes up every year.
'We don’t know all the risk factors but the evidence that alcohol causes breast cancer is now very clear – it causes one out of every five cases in Scotland. There’s no “safe” amount – every drink counts.
‘Lowering your consumption will reduce your risk. There are controllable and  modifiable risks, alcohol is one of those.’
He added that, as more women survive the disease, they are looking at ways of reducing the risk of developing the illness for a second time.
The Scottish Government has recently launched its Detect Cancer Early initiative. The initiative hopes to increase early diagnosis – which is key to beating the disease – by 25 per cent.
The aim is to save more than 300  extra lives a year by the end of the next parliamentary term.
Dr Morrison added: ‘We know that about one unit a day of alcohol increases a  woman’s risk by about 10 per cent.’
It is believed that binge drinking is responsible for the majority of cases.
But recent studies have also shown that even drinking a so-called ‘safe’ amount of alcohol below the recommended daily limit can increase the risk of developing cancer.
And the danger can remain even for those who become teetotal.
General guidelines advise that women should not go over three units of alcohol per day and that men should drink no more than four units.
One unit is roughly equivalent to a third of a pint of normal-strength beer, half of  a 175ml glass of red wine or a single whisky.
The rate at which women in Scotland are being diagnosed with cancer has also accelerated ahead of England.
The latest figures in the Scottish Health Survey also show that about 38 per cent of women regularly exceed daily or weekly sensible drinking guidelines.
Last week, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon introduced the minimum price per unit for alcohol in Scotland. However it is possible for a woman to exceed the weekly guidelines for less than £5.
It is estimated that one in 30 female deaths in Scotland is alcohol-related. Alcohol now claims 25 lives a week overall north of the Border.