Alcohol is a substance that causes a wide range of cancers.

Cancer development typically occurs two years or more after starting to drink alcohol, even after quitting.

At a workshop to provide feedback on the Law on Prevention and Control of the Harmful Effects of Alcohol, jointly organized by the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Alliance for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs-VN), and HealthBridge Canada in Vietnam, MSc. Dr. Tran Quoc Bao, from the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, stated: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that alcohol is a carcinogen for humans, including cancers such as oral cavity, throat, larynx, esophagus, colorectal, liver, and breast cancer in women.

Nearly half of Vietnamese men consume alcohol at harmful levels (Illustrative image).

"Drinking at any level carries a risk of cancer. The more you drink, the higher the risk of cancer. Cancer development usually appears two years or more after starting to drink, even after quitting alcohol," emphasized Ms. Bao.

What are the limits of alcohol consumption?

According to Ms. Bao, ethanol in alcoholic beverages and other drinks is a carcinogen for humans. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption to prevent cancer. To reduce the risk of cancer and other related diseases, it is best for people not to drink alcohol at all, or if they do, they should limit their consumption.

Specifically: Healthy men and women should not consume more than 2 units of alcohol per day to minimize the risk of illness and injury. They should also avoid consuming more than 4 units of alcohol in any single drinking session to reduce the risk of alcohol-related accidents and injuries.

People under 18 years old should not drink alcohol. Pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers should ideally not drink alcohol (drinking alcohol can harm the fetus and breastfeeding infant).

Ms. Bao warned that drinking alcohol at any level increases the risk of developing cancer. The benefits of alcohol for cardiovascular health are only applicable to women aged 55 and older, and when limited to 5 units per week. There is no safe level of alcohol consumption for pregnant women.

Stricter penalties are needed for drivers who drink and drive.

Statistics show that up to 200 liters of illicit alcohol are consumed annually. Vietnam has a very high rate, ranking second among Southeast Asian and Pacific countries; 10th in Asia and 29th in the world in terms of alcohol consumption.

The rate of alcohol consumption among adults is very high, with 77% of men and 11% of women currently reporting having consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. Alcohol use increases with age. Younger age groups drink less frequently but consume larger amounts per drinking session compared to older age groups. Nearly half of men have consumed alcohol at harmful levels.

Among those who consumed alcohol, approximately 45% had driven a motor vehicle within 2 hours of consumption. A national survey of Vietnamese adolescents revealed that 20.8% of male adolescents had driven after drinking alcohol, resulting in injuries that caused them to miss school or work for a week or more...

According to Ms. Bao, young people who start drinking alcohol before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol-related problems later in life than those who start drinking at the age of 21.

That means a four times higher chance of alcohol addiction and a six times higher chance of engaging in physical violence after drinking; a six times higher chance of traffic accidents due to drinking, and nearly a five times higher chance of suffering injuries from drinking.

Therefore, to minimize risks to health and society, Ms. Bao also suggested adding several new points to the Law on Prevention of Harmful Effects of Alcohol. For example, prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors or banning alcohol advertising in public places...

At the workshop, experts also recommended the urgent completion of the legal framework to control supply and demand in order to minimize the harm caused by alcohol abuse.

Strengthening penalties and enforcing stricter enforcement measures, such as: researching the possibility of imprisonment for drivers with blood alcohol levels exceeding 80mg/dl; mandatory community service; and heavy penalties for repeat offenders…

According to Health & Life