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More than one-third of cancer cases are preventable, massive study finds (www.nature.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/health@lemmy.world
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Many cancers are linked to two modifiable habits: tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption.

Nearly 40% of new cancer cases worldwide are potentially preventable, according to one of the first investigations1 of its kind, which analysed dozens of cancer types in almost 200 countries.

The study found that in 2022, roughly seven million cancer diagnoses were linked to modifiable risk factors — those that can be changed, controlled or managed to reduce the likelihood of developing the disease. Overall, tobacco smoking was the leading contributor to worldwide cancer cases, followed by infections and drinking alcohol. The findings suggest that avoiding such risk factors is “one of the most powerful ways that we can potentially reduce the future cancer burden”, says study co-author Hanna Fink, a cancer epidemiologist at the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.

The study was published today in Nature Medicine.

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[–] 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, try criticizing alcohol even here on lemmy, and you get an army of addicts getting so mad at the mere idea.

Same for meat consumption.

People don't defend smoking as much but yet it's still legal everywhere.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Tbf, in a vacuum, alcohol consumption isn't all that bad. However, given the levels of consumption, the historical significance, the cultural ties, and insane normalization of binge drinking, yeah, this shit's a fucking problem. Among the preventable risks listed, I think alcohol is absolutely going to be the most stubborn problem, as at least tobacco usage has a growing stigma around it. And I think another big problem with how stubborn alcohol as a problem will be versus smoking is that smoking is bad for you if you do it at all. Alcohol isn't necessarily that bad having a drink or two on occasion, but, considering the state of things, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a little more health stigma around alcohol than there is now.

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