Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating breast cancer cases in the UK that are attributable to alcohol consumption.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the biggest risk factors of certain cancers. The Government welcomes the recent publication of the World Cancer Research Fund's 2025 report.

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines and the NHS webpage on the risks of alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer, including breast cancer.

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects patient data on cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases. The NDRS does not collect data on the causes of cancer. Therefore, the Department has not made a formal assessment on the annual cost to the NHS of treating breast cancer cases in the United Kingdom that are attributable to alcohol consumption.

The National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published in the new year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption, alongside other risk factors, given alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, including breast cancer.