Women- Alcohol Use and  Addiction and Breast Cancer
Issues Related to Women, Health, Family and Alcohol & Other Drug use, abuse and addiction.

Deception and false hope to increase Wine sales?
"These studies all come to the same conclusion: drinking alcohol is a risk factor for developing breast cancer. And, most importantly, it doesn’t take much to have an effect"  source:  Cancer.gov

No warnings to women about cancer risks on alcohol products, but promotions that promote the idea of a good corporate citizen?

The very Product placing women at risk for Breast Cancer is promoting itself and its corporation as a concerned corporate citizen? 

This label placed on alcohol products (see left), are promotional, and advertising for sales of alcohol products, yet  say nothing about causing cancer, and known  risks. 
There is  NO MENTION of the fact that alcohol is a known  carcinogen and substantially contributes to breast cancer (and other cancers) in the U.S. 
In fact as you can see on the wine label above, they promote quite a different understanding to consumers, suggesting,  and promoting good corporate citizenship and health positives by fighting breast cancer.  This action is an outrage to women who have already suffered form one alcohol related illness and survived, related to alcohol consumption, and now we have two killers to deal with.  This is shocking considering alcohol products still have  virtually no health warning or public education, to reduce onset, or promote prevention measures.  This industry appears to only focus on  deceptive marketing to increase revenues with millions of American women facing great risk due to a lack of primary public health information disclosing the known risks on these alcohol products.
Alcohol consumption is the risk factor most strongly correlated with breast cancer
Science provides a path for a new public health campaign.
New Report Alcohol consumption is the risk factor most strongly correlated with breast cancer among women in Marin County, CA,  where breast cancer rates are among the nation's highest, according to university researchers. This study uses "controls" which further validates the findings, and clearly shows the unspoken truth-placing millions of American women at risk, denying them the opportunity to seek early screenings, and other prevention measures. 

Silence Kills  Women who are or have been heavy consumers of drug alcohol,  and are without wide access to this potentially life saving  information is tragic, and we are working hard to promote this issue, and find a path to educate the millions of women who are unaware of their increased risk for breast cancer.    For those in the recovering community it is an outrage.  "Risks are widely known to many accept those most vulnerable for to the increased risk for breast cancer"

Action to support broad public education and information promoting early screening and mammograms should be our focus, not increasing wine sales and profits for these companies.

Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Breast cancer occurs in men also, but the number of new cases is small. Early detection and effective treatment is expected to reduce the number of women who die from breast cancer, and development of new methods of prevention continue to be studied.

In addition, to risks for women getting breast cancer, research also shows that alcohol consumption greatly increases risks of death from breast cancer. 

Cancer.gov, showed that  for postmenopausal women, less than one drink a day can increase the risk of dying of breast cancer up to 30%, compared to non-drinkers.

Drinking less, or not drinking, is one of the few known ways to lower breast cancer risk.

Alcohol joins the list of lifestyle choices that are linked to breast cancer according to Cancer.gov   In the United States, alcohol is estimated to make a contribution to breast cancer in about 1 in 50 of the cases diagnosed each year. In Italy, where alcohol consumption is much higher, about 1 in 6 breast cancers are thought to be related to women drinking alcohol.

Recovering Women speak out against lack of adequate warning on risks related to alcohol consumption.  Willing to help us get the truth in print?  Publish the facts and our views on the deceptive nature of this marketing and known risks to those who are heavy drinkers, or those who used to be?  Contact us!

Research from the Federal Government  Read the report connecting Alcohol to Cancer
More than 50 epidemiologic studies in the past decade have found small to modest increases in risks of breast cancer associated with drinking alcoholic beverages (Schatzkin et al., 1994). Two large cohort studies involving nearly 600,000 women detected a 20 to 30 percent excess of breast cancer associated with consumption of about one drink per day, with 60 to 70 percent excesses among heavy drinkers (Colditz et al., 1990; Garfinkel et al., 1988).

(Research from: http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/raterisk/risks61.html.William J. Blot,Ph.D * From the Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Etiology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland)

Cancer.gov Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families.

More Facts and Info on Cancer and Alcohol

General Facts related to Women and Addiction

FAS- Get the Facts on how Alcohol consumption and women are harmful to unborn children!

Women, Alcohol, Health Risk Fact Sheet

More Studies, on Alcohol and Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
Article one Breast Cancer
Article Two Breast Cancer and Alcohol Consumption

We want labeling that validates that more legible, and very specific in warning those who may have a family history of Alcoholism (more than 9million children in the U.S.) of the risks they are choosing when consuming alcoholic beverages once they are of legal age to do so.
Labeling efforts from 1999

Ongoing harm-Binge drinking and babies.

HIV and Poor Communities In poor inner city communities young smokers of crack cocaine, particularly women who have sex in exchange for money or drugs, are at high risk for HIV infection, exhibiting HIV prevalence rates as high as 30%

"A child who reaches age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol or using drugs is virtually certain never to do so."- Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA very instrumental in supporting real policy that is effective

More facts

Videos on Alcoholism and Women

Break the Cycle Stop the stigma
Children of Parents with Alcohol& Drug  Addiction Alcoholism-Alcohol Dependence
-Get Information

Facts on Underage Drinking

FACT More than one-half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism ( Dawson and Grant 1998).  More Facts on Alcoholism

Genetics/Environment-Combo for Chaos!

Learn more on research related to genetics, UCSF Family Alcoholism and Genetics Project, provides more information and the ability to support research in this area.

A recovering community Issue-Greater risk for our children.  Alcohol is number one abused drug in the country, Is the warning label on alcohol clear?

Al-Anon helps Parents and Family & Friends of Alcoholics

Our Children and Policy to reduce risk

Your Children and their Genetics puts them at even higher risk.  Research clearly has shown that putting off Alcohol consumption until the age of 21 (when their brain is fully developed) greatly reduces their risk of Alcohol Dependence.  All states mandate a drinking age of 21.  Louisiana has a loophole that the liquor industry is fighting to leave in place.  Why?  If they are such supporters of the Law (which was held constitutional by the Louisiana Supreme Court) then why would this matter? 

Truth:
Alcohol sales depend on our youth having access to their products.  The loophole allows youth "easy" access to alcohol.  Closing the loophole allows the intent of our lawmakers to mandate a drinking age across the state of 21 to take "true" effect. 

Nothing kills more children than Alcohol. Family history of Alcoholism and Addiction play a key role in the onset or relapse risks, along with the environment we raise our family in.  All of this is important to the alcohol industry seeking  corporate profits which in turn enable the the heavy purchase of legislative support, and marketing, fueled by a powerful lobby out to kill our  bills directed at reducing our families risks.

Casa Report on Alcohol Effects on Schools

Download the Peter Heart Survey, Alcohol Advertising troubling parents

With elections coming soon, it is going to be interesting to see how those who continue to put their personal favor with the alcohol industry ahead of our safety and our children's lives, and the fiscal health of our state, actually wiggle out of this.  There is no more wiggle room.  We vote, and we have had enough of this misuse of our trust
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8/25/03****We have sent out with partners, a survey requesting a response and position on Addiction related Policy issues to those running for Legislative office, in addition to the Gubernatorial candidates.**********

Not Enforceable with Loophole, listen to the Police Chief and his desire to close the loophole.

Alcohol & High Risk Youth-EASY to BUY & EASY to Die 4/17 Released Video or Audio of Interview with Slidell Police Chief-the need to close the loophole is present in Slidell.
 

Domestic Abuse-and the Substance Abuse connection



 

 "Holding young people solely responsible for underage drinking is like holding fish responsible for dying in a polluted stream." This quote from Laurie Lieber (Center on Alcohol Advertising) raises awareness of the impact of environmental influences.

Consider......

• The alcohol beverage industry spends nearly $2 billion each year to promote their products
  
   
• Our behavior is powerfully shaped by our environment, including the messages and images delivered by the mass media, the norms of our communities, and the availability of substances.
  
   
• Because environmental management affects whole populations and creates changes in fundamental system wide processes underlying substance abuse, it has the potential to bring about relatively quick, dramatic and enduring reductions in substance abuse problems.
  
   
• Communities (including parents) can express healthy community norms by prohibiting alcohol in public areas, prohibiting alcohol sponsorship of public events, promoting prevention through education campaigns, and controlling the advertising of alcohol.