About this episode

The episode discusses the misinformation surrounding alcohol as a carcinogen and the need for public awareness and regulation.

Cancer Prevention Action Week in June put a spotlight on one of public health’s most stubborn problems: the gap between what the science says about cancer and what the public actually knows, including on alcohol and cancer. Melissa Dando from the World Cancer Research Fund explains the scale of the challenge: “Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen - the same category as tobacco and asbestos - and it’s linked to seven types of cancer, but awareness in the UK is quite low.” Sue Taylor from Balance in the North East points to a structural cause: “You’ve got the positives vastly overplayed and the negatives underplayed - it’s bringing us to a perfect storm.” With mandatory alcohol labelling on the horizon, both guests argue that public awareness campaigns, stronger online regulation, and government action are all needed to close the gap. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit instalcstud.substack.com

People in this episode

Guests: Melissa Dando, Sue Taylor

Topics covered

• alcohol
• cancer
• public health
• misinformation
• awareness
• regulation

Keywords

• alcohol
• cancer
• misinformation
• public health
• awareness campaigns
• regulation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Cancer Research Fund, Balance in the North East, Institute of Alcohol Studies

Places: UK

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