Drinking, tanning and smoking are contributing to around 400 “preventable” cases of cancer every day in the UK, new estimates have suggested. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has estimated that about 155,000 cases of cancer could be prevented every year if people led different lifestyles.
It said that some 387,820 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2019/20, the latest figures available. However, people leading unhealthy lifestyles mean this figure is higher than it should be.
The charity said that, compared with 2017 data, there was an increase of 8,000 “preventable cases”. It said that about 40% of cancers could be prevented through lifestyle changes such as eating healthily, being active, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.
