Recent studies have also highlighted alcohol’s role as a carcinogen,7 with one in eight alcohol-attributable deaths caused by cancer.2 Other key advances concern the harms from alcohol on non-drinkers and the role of alcohol in communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted infections. Alcohol use can play both a biological role (affecting immunity) and a social one (impaired decision-making and poor adherence to treatment protocols) in communicable disease transmission and outcomes.8,9 These new data have not yet been fully integrated into global strategies and action plans.
