TORONTO — Up to 3,000 cancer diagnoses in Ontario in 2012 were linked to alcohol consumption, a new report is warning.
It’s often overlooked by the more obvious risk factors — smoking, tanning or an unhealthy diet — but alcohol intake is also a major concern, according to Cancer Care Ontario.
“Alcohol drinking has been normalized in our society and so much so that we don’t think of it as a risk factor for chronic diseases, especially cancer,” Dr. Linda Rabeneck, CCO’s vice-president of prevention and cancer control, said.
“This is an opportunity to show that it’s a modifiable risk factor and there are people who are diagnosed with cancers that we can relate to alcohol,” she told Global News.