Low-level drinkers have increased cancer and cardiovascular risk, study finds

The charity Alcohol Change UK is calling on the government to introduce health risk labelling on alcohol.

Alice Porter

Sunday 13 April 2025 09:02, UK

Low-level drinking can increase your chances of cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

Research conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team, on behalf of the charity Alcohol Change UK, examined the drinking habits of more than 4,000 UK adults.

It found that people who consumed alcohol within the NHS guidelines had worse health than non-drinkers.

Compared to people who never consumed alcohol, rates of cardiovascular disease increased from 1% to 5%, and for cancer, it went from 1% to 4%.

The study also found "low-risk" drinkers reported reduced sleep quality, worse daily functioning, and poorer dental health, compared to those who never consume alcohol.

With more than 30 million people in the UK drinking at these levels, campaigners are calling for people to rethink their habits.

Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: "For decades, we've fallen prey to a binary but false idea that 'drinking problems' only affect a minority of people with alcohol dependence.

"But as this research makes clear, alcohol is taking a toll on our health and wellbeing right across the drinking spectrum, even at 'low-risk' levels."

The NHS recommends that people should not consume more than six pints of medium-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine a week, but scientists warn that it is the way some people consume those volumes of alcohol which can be problematic for their health.

Professor David Nutt, a former government chief drugs adviser, said some view 14 units a week as a target and others binge drink.

"There are people who think, 'I've got 14 units, I can have seven drinks on a Friday, seven on a Saturday, that's okay'.

"We know that drinking the maximum allowance in one or two goes is very dangerous. That is where the data becomes quite complicated because some of the harms are undoubtedly magnified by binge drinking within that low-risk weekly level."

Nathan Eades, 37, runs two high-end pubs in Cheltenham and used to regularly drink large quantities of alcohol, but has recently changed his habits.

"Being able to cut alcohol from having five, six pints at the end of a shift to maybe one vodka soda, two vodka sodas a week has really helped benefit us as a business and me as a person," he said.

"After you have probably had one too many, how do your family take it? How are your co-workers interacting with you? How are they feeling with your mood swings, brain fog and irrationality? That is the area which we all need to be a bit more mindful of."

Alcohol Change UK is calling on the government to introduce health risk labelling on alcohol as well as marketing restrictions so that people have more information about what they are consuming and are not so regularly being encouraged to buy drinks.

But drinkers in central London told Sky News they were sceptical that labelling would help.

One said that "every now and then it's quite nice to enjoy a drink and not worry about it... sometimes you put too many warnings and constantly telling people that everything's bad for them is also dangerous".

Another said people are "generally stuck in our habits. I have a drink a few times a week and I know drinking's not good for me, so something on a bottle saying 'drinking's not good for you', I don't think will change [that]".

A third said drinking alcohol was "a calculated risk" for most people. "People aren't going in there having a pint to be healthy, they're going in there to have fun and hang out with friends," they said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We recognise the need for urgent action to reverse the unacceptable levels of alcohol harm and deaths.

"As part of our Plan for Change, we are shifting our focus from sickness to prevention, prioritising early intervention and health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives across the UK."

Low-level drinkers have increased cancer and cardiovascular risk, study finds

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