According to the World Health Organization, doubling alcohol taxes in Europe would prevent approximately 5,000 cancer deaths each year.
- According to the WHO, this tax tightening would prevent more than 10,000 new cases each year.
- Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany constitute the podium of the countries which would benefit the most from such a measure.
- Breast and colorectal cancers would be the most impacted.
About 40% of cancers are preventable, according to the National Cancer Institute (Inca). Among the risk factors, alcohol would be in second position, behind tobacco, and would be responsible for approximately 28,000 cancers each year. To fight against this scourge, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed on Monday to double alcohol taxes in Europe.
Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany: the main beneficiaries
According to the WHO, this tax tightening would prevent nearly 5,000 deaths from cancer each year on the continent. She draws this figure from a study published in the scientific journal The Lancet on September 14, in which the researchers modeled and estimated the effects of such a measure. “An estimated 10,700 new cancer cases and 4,850 alcohol-related cancer deaths could be prevented each year in the WHO European region by doubling current taxes on alcoholic beverages”, indicated the European branch of the Organization in a statement.
The current taxations in place are considered too “weak” by the WHO to have a real effect on consumption and therefore on health. According to her, doubling the taxes would have “high potential impact” and “positive results in all countries”. Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany constitute the podium of the countries which would benefit the most from such a measure with respectively 725, 680 and 525 deaths avoided, according to its modelling.
The most affected breast and colorectal cancers
According to the WHO, of the 4.8 million new cases of cancer each year in Europe, 1.4 million, as well as 650,000 deaths, are directly linked to alcohol consumption. Among them, 180,000 cases and 85,000 deaths are directly caused by alcohol according to the Organization. The number of lives saved by a doubling of taxes would concern in particular breast cancer, with 1,000 deaths avoided per year, and colorectal cancer, with 1,700 fewer deaths. Alcohol is linked to seven different types of cancer: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, colorectal, liver, larynx and breast.
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