How many cigarettes in a bottle of wine?

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Drinking a 750ml bottle of wine a week increases the risk of developing cancer over the life of the equivalent of 10 cigarettes per week for women and five for men, according to a study.

British researchers said it was a good way to publicize the health risks of moderate consumption.

But experts said smoking had far greater cancer risk than alcohol for most drinkers.

And the only way to reduce the risks of smoking was to stop completely.

Government guidelines on alcohol consumption advise men and women not to drink more than 14 alcohol units per week, equivalent to six liters of medium beer or seven glbades. of wine (or a bottle and a half of wine).

The guidelines also state that there is no "safe" level of consumption for health risk.

This study indicates that even moderate consumption of alcohol can expose people to cancer, especially bad cancer, which is the most common cancer among British women.

Communicating the harmful effects of cancer

When writing to BMC Public Health, the researchers calculated that if 1,000 men and 1,000 non-smoking women each drank a bottle of wine a week, about 10 men and 14 additional women could develop cancer in their lifetime.

In women, alcohol consumption was related to increased risk of bad cancer and in men, it was related to cancers of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

For their calculations, the research team at Southampton University and Bangor University used cancer risk data from Cancer Research UK and data on the number of cancers in the population that could be related to cancer. tobacco and alcohol.

Dr. Minouk Schoemaker, a scientist at the London-based Institute of Cancer Research, who is researching the causes of bad cancer, said the study provided "interesting insight", but the situation was not clear. simple.

"The overall picture of cancer risk is extremely complex and nuanced, so it is important to keep in mind that this new study is subject to a number of badumptions," she said.

"For example, it is difficult to completely unravel the effects of alcohol and smoking, and the study did not take into account the duration of smoking or the time elapsed since the beginning of smoking. stop smoking. "

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The study focused solely on cancer – not on other diseases, such as common cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases in smokers.

He also used data from 2004 and did not take into account other factors that could cause cancers, such as age, family genes, diet and symptoms. other aspects of the lifestyle.

And the number of cigarettes "equivalent" to alcohol is low, while most smokers smoke a lot more cigarettes a day.

As a result, for some, the jury decided on the usefulness of the study.

"Smoking more dangerous"

Professor John Britton, director of the British Center for Studies on Tobacco and Alcohol at the University of Nottingham, said: "I am not sure that many people decide to smoke or smoke. drink … on the basis of the similarity of risks between the two.

"This study demonstrates that with respect to the risk of cancer, smoking is much more dangerous than drinking alcohol." Smoking is also much more dangerous than alcohol in relation to a whole lot of people. range of other diseases.

"If smokers are worried about their health, the best thing to do is quit smoking.

"People who consume alcohol should try to stick to the recommended limits of 14 units a week," added Professor Britton.

But Dr. Bob Patton, a lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Surrey, said that the study could transform public opinion.

"It is likely that the results of this simple study will have a profound impact on how drinkers, and particularly drinkers, consider the risks badociated with alcohol consumption," he said.

"Considering alcohol consumption with the same effect as smoking can result in decreased consumption and its harmful effects."