WHO is working with the European Union (EU) to reduce harms due to alcohol consumption in the EU. Eight out of the 10 countries with the highest alcohol consumption in the world are in the EU, where almost 300 000 people die each year because of alcohol-attributable injuries, cancers, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases and conditions.

Cancer is the leading cause of deaths due to alcohol consumption in the EU. Too many people are unaware that, even at low levels, alcohol consumption can cause at least 7 types of cancer, including the most common ones, such as colorectal cancer and breast cancer in women.

Raising awareness of these risks is a central aim of the WHO-EU Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION), co-funded by the European Union as part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, working across 30 countries – the 27 EU Member States + Iceland, Norway and Ukraine – from 2022 to 2026.

EVID-ACTION focuses on:

• developing the evidence base to support implementation of effective alcohol health warnings, with a specific focus on cancer risks;
• strengthening expertise and sharing of experience among countries, as well as supporting their commitment to protect health interests in developing and implementing alcohol policies;
• supporting collaboration between countries in developing regulations and public health communications about the links between alcohol consumption and cancer risks, and options to reduce these; and
• providing practical technical tools and training to support implementation of evidence-based screening and brief interventions in primary health care, the workplace and social services contexts.