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For many people, the new year brings both a banging hangover and a solemn resolution never to get drunk again. More than a decade ago Alcohol Change UK, which campaigns to cut drinking, launched its “Dry January” campaign. This year it reckons a third of British men will try to stick to it.
In America Vivek Murthy, the surgeon-general, is also keen to discourage drinking. Dr Murthy has recommended placing warnings on alcohol to highlight the fact that it raises the risk of some cancers, including breast and bowel cancer. If so, America could become the third country, after South Korea and Ireland, to require labels.
Drinking a lot is indisputably bad for you. Boozing has long been associated with heart attacks, liver disease, stroke and obesity. Drunks are more likely to get into fights or accidents. Alcohol is addictive, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) blames it for about one death in 20 around the world. The link with cancer is less familiar to most people. Dr Murthy’s statistics suggest that women who drink occasionally have about a 16.5% lifetime risk of...