More than 100,000 cancers – equivalent to one third of all those diagnosed in the UK each year – are being caused by smoking, unhealthy diets, alcohol and excess weight, according to figures from Cancer Research UK.
This figure further increases to around 134,000 when taking into account all 14 lifestyle and environmental risk factors analysed. This latest review of cancer and lifestyle in the UK is the most comprehensive undertaken to date and is published in a supplement to the British Journal of Cancer. Smoking is the most important lifestyle factor causing 23% of cancers in men and over 15% in women (nearly one in five cancers). Overall, the review shows that 45% of all cancers in men could be prevented – compared with 40% of all cancers in women.
