Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2018 Mar;37(3):304-306.
doi: 10.1111/dar.12676. Epub 2018 Feb 12.

Accuracy of alcohol and breast cancer risk information on Drinkaware's website

John Larsen  1 , Paul Wallace  2 , Fiona Sim  3 , Jonathan Chick  4 , Sarah Jarvis  3 , Iona Lidington  5 , Stephen Neidle  2 , Graham Ogden  6 , Lynn Owens  7
Affiliations
Comment

Accuracy of alcohol and breast cancer risk information on Drinkaware's website

John Larsen et al. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

A recent paper in Drug and Alcohol Review analysed the information on cancer disseminated by 27 alcohol industry funded organisations. The independent UK alcohol education charity Drinkaware was among the organisations whose information was studied, and based on the analysis claims were made of misrepresentation of evidence about the alcohol-related risk of cancer and alcohol industry influence. This commentary challenges the validity of these findings in respect to the evidence relating to the Drinkaware information, as the analysis is found to be misrepresenting the information by both disregarding the wider information content provided and the order and prominence with which alcohol-related cancer risk is presented. Furthermore, it is argued that the public has a right to be provided with relevant evidence-based information about cancer risk. It is critical that Drinkaware's important public health function is not compromised by unjustified allegations of inaccuracy and by unwarranted attacks on its independence and integrity.

Keywords: alcohol; alcohol education; cancer risk; public health; risk communication.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Petticrew M, Maani Hessari N, Knai C, Weiderpass E. How alcohol industry organisations mislead the public about alcohol and cancer. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12596 [Epub ahead of print]. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Facts & Impacts: Drinkaware Impact Report 2015. Available at: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/media/1666/drinkaware_2015_impact_report.pdf (accessed 23 November 2017).
    1. Attwood S, Parke H, Larsen J, Morton KL. Using a mobile health application to reduce alcohol consumption: a mixed‐methods evaluation of the drinkaware track & calculate units application. BMC Public Health 2017;17:394 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4358-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types