Drinking alcohol increases a person’s risk of developing at least seven types of cancer, and nearly half of Taiwan’s population is alcohol intolerant, meaning they are at greater risk of developing cancer from imbibing, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and an advocacy group said yesterday ahead of Taiwan No Alcohol Day on Thursday.
The Taiwan Alcohol Intolerance Education Society (TAIES) in 2019 launched Taiwan No Alcohol Day to raise public awareness about the dangers of drinking alcohol. The group chose May 9 as a play on the words “five” (五) for May and “no” (無), both pronounced as wu in Chinese, and “nine” (九) and “alcohol” (酒), both pronounced as jiou.
At a news conference at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei, the ministry, the hospital and TAIES announced the start of No Alcohol week and that they would be holding a series of health lectures at Mackay Medical College in New Taipei City and popular tourist sites in northern Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
The Department of Mental Health cited the International Agency for Research on Cancer as saying that alcohol consumption is causally linked to seven types of cancer: mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, liver, breast and colon.
Studies have also suggested that the prevalence of aldehyde-dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) deficiency — a lack of a major enzyme responsible for alcohol oxidation — is as high as 49 percent in Taiwan, the department said.
People with the deficiency cannot metabolize alcohol normally, and might be at higher risk of developing cancer, it said.
TAIES chairperson Chen Che-hong (陳哲宏) said that many people have the misconception that if their face turns red and becomes hot while drinking alcohol, it means the alcohol is being metabolized and that they can consume more because their liver is functioning properly, but that “alcohol flush reaction” is predominantly due to ALDH2 deficiency.
People with the deficiency lack the enzyme for degrading acetaldehyde, a carcinogen, to nontoxic acetic acid, he said, adding that nearly 8 percent of the global population has ALDH2 deficiency, but the prevalence is much higher in East Asia.
Therefore, the health risk from alcohol consumption is higher in Taiwan and East Asian countries, even if people there drink less, he added.
Aside from and increased risk of cancer, people with alcohol dependence are 3.6 times more likely to develop a major depressive disorder, and are associated with a suicide risk six to 10 times greater than that of the general population, department Director Chen Liang-yu (陳亮妤) said.
To help people with alcoholism, the ministry last year established the Taiwan Alcohol Abstinence and Addiction Prevention Center at Mackay Medical College, she said, adding that the ministry encourages people with alcohol dependency to seek a professional consultation for treatment.
The center has helped more than 400 people in the past six months and referred 82 for alcohol addiction treatment, and the government provides a subsidy of up to NT$40,000 per person per year for the treatment, the ministry said.
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