'No safe limit': Even low levels of drinking could hike mouth cancer risk by 50%, global study warns

The research was conducted in India, where chewing tobacco is common, and cancer risks are higher, but scientists found that alcohol intake appeared to boost the risk independently.

When alcohol consumption is paired with chewing tobacco, these two habits together likely account for 62 per cent of all mouth cancer cases across the country.

Mouth cancer ranks as the second most common cancer in India, with around 143,759 new diagnoses and nearly 80,000 deaths occurring annually. Fewer than half of patients make it past five years after diagnosis.

To understand the link between alcohol and this disease, researchers examined data from 1,803 people with confirmed mouth cancer alongside 1,903 healthy individuals from five study centres over an 11-year period ending in 2021.

Most participants were between 35 and 54 years old, though nearly half of cancer cases appeared in younger adults aged 25 to 45.

The findings showed that locally brewed alcoholic drinks posed the greatest danger, with an 87 per cent higher risk of mouth cancer compared to non-drinkers.

Even tiny amounts proved harmful, as less than 2 grams of beer daily was enough to elevate cancer risk.

International brands like whisky, vodka and rum carried a 72 per cent increased risk, while any alcohol consumption at all raised the danger by 68 per cent.

What's more, data shows the risk more than quadruples when drinking and chewing tobacco are combined, with researchers calculating that this combination is likely responsible for 62 per cent of all buccal mucosa cancer cases in India.

They pointed to possible contamination with toxins like methanol and acetaldehyde in locally brewed drinks as a key factor behind their heightened danger.

Production of these beverages remains largely unregulated, with some varieties containing up to 90 per cent alcohol content.

Around 11.5 per cent of all mouth cancer cases in India can be attributed to alcohol alone, climbing to 14 per cent in states like Meghalaya, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, where the disease is particularly prevalent.

The study's authors were clear in their conclusion: "Our study demonstrates that there is no safe limit of alcohol consumption for [buccal mucosa cancer] risk."