EDM 1525: Cancer Prevention Action Week on alcohol and cancer

That this House commemorates Cancer Prevention Action Week on alcohol and cancer organised by World Cancer Research Fund and supported by 25 organisations working to reduce alcohol harm and cancer incidence and improve public health; acknowledges that alcohol is a Group One carcinogen and a well-established modifiable risk factor for seven cancer types, including two of the most common in the UK, breast and bowel; highlights that these risks are present even at low levels of consumption; notes with concern that a poll commissioned by the World Cancer Research Fund found that only 7% of the British public were aware that alcohol is linked to cancer when asked unprompted; acknowledges that Government policy on alcohol does not reflect that it is responsible for around 17,000 cancer diagnoses annually; recognises that the covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in high risk drinking behaviours which could result in 18,785 extra cancer cases by 2035; urges the Government to introduce a comprehensive national alcohol strategy for England, without delay, which includes mandatory health warnings, marketing restrictions and minimum unit pricing; stresses that the strategy must align with a focus on alcohol as a risk factor in the National Cancer Plan for England; recognises the importance of working with devolved administrations to tackle alcohol-attributable cancers; and affirms that, in taking bold action, the Government will make significant strides in its health mission to shift from sickness to prevention, and achieve its ambitions to reduce NHS waiting times, address health inequalities and grow the economy.