Focus on link between cancer and drink

Pressure group Alcohol Action is hosting a conference on alcohol and cancer today at Te Papa in Wellington, in partnership with the Cancer Society of New Zealand. According to Alcohol Action, more than 800 New Zealanders under 80 years of age die every year of alcohol-related causes – and nearly a third of them die from a cancer linked to drink. The most common type of cancer in that category is breast cancer. The audience at the conference was told that physicians have known about the carcinogenic connection for years but say the public knows little about it.