Growing numbers of 40-somethings are developing mouth, lip and tongue cancer because they drink too much alcohol, Cancer Research UK warns today.

    Diagnoses of oral cancer have gone up by 28% among men in their 40s and 24% among women the same age since the mid-1990s. The charity says tobacco does not explain the rise, as it takes up to 30 years to cause cancer. Instead it blames rising alcohol consumption.

    Alcohol campaigners responded by calling for cans and bottles to carry cigarette-style health warnings which spell out the risks of drinking too much as a way of reversing the trend.

    "These latest figures are really alarming", said Hazel Nunn, the charity's health information manager. Three-quarters of cases of oral cancer are caused by either smoking or drinking alcohol, tobacco being the single biggest risk. "For people in their 40s, it seems that other factors are also contributing to this jump in oral cancer rates. Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and the trend we are now seeing is likely to be linked to Britain's continually rising drinking levels," she said. Eating too little fruit and vegetables are also partly to blame for the growth of the HPV virus, which also causes cervical cancer, Nunn said.

    Each year about 5,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer and about 1,800 die from it. It can be treated successfully if caught early. Warning signs include ulcers, sores, red or white patches in the mouth lasting more than three weeks and unexplained mouth or ear pain.

    Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: "These figures demonstrate once again that people are being struck down at ever younger ages with alcohol-related illnesses … There is an urgent need to rethink how we communicate the risks of misuse. The most logical way of getting this across would be through standard warning labels as they do with tobacco products."

    Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: "Many people are not aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer, yet as this research shows, it can be a major contributor or cause of the disease. While alcoholic liver disease remains the number one killer linked to alcohol, more and more people are suffering from oral cancers – and record drinking levels have undeniably played a part."

    Some 41% of cancers of the mouth in Britain could be prevented if no one drank, the World Cancer Research Fund estimated. Regular visits to the dentist can help spot warning signs.

    "英國癌癥研究"（Cancer Research UK）慈善組織今天警告說，由于過量喝酒，越來越多的40多歲中年人開始患有口腔癌、嘴唇癌及舌癌。

    自上世紀90年代中期以來，口腔癌確診病例在40多歲男性中攀升了28%,而在同年齡段的女性中則上升了24%.該慈善機構表示，這個攀升不是由于吸煙的緣故，因為那需要長達30年才會導致癌癥。相反，該機構將之歸咎于酒類消費的不斷增長。

    節酒運動人士對此做出回應，要求各種酒罐和酒瓶標注有香煙式的健康警告，清楚地說明過量飲酒的風險，以期扭轉這一趨勢。

    該慈善機構的健康信息經理哈澤爾·納恩（Hazel Nunn）說："這些最新數據確實令人震驚。" 四分之三的口腔癌病例是由于吸煙或飲酒而引起的，而吸煙是其中最大的單個風險因素。她說："對于40多歲的人來說，其他因素似乎也促使了口腔癌發病率的這一增長。自1950年代以來，酒類消費增加了一倍，而我們目前所看到的這一趨勢，很可能與英國酒類消費水平的不斷上升有關。"納恩指出，水果和蔬菜吃得太少，也是人類乳突病毒（HPV virus）感染增加的部分原因，而這種病毒也會導致子宮頸癌。

    每年約有5000人被診斷為口腔癌患者，其中大約1800人因此病故。如果及早發現，口腔癌是可以治療成功的。警報癥狀包括潰瘍、皮炎，口腔里出現持續時間達三周以上的紅斑或白斑，以及原因不明的嘴疼或耳疼。

    英國皇家內科醫師學會（Royal College of Physicians）主席伊恩？吉爾摩（Ian Gilmore）說："這些數據再次表明，人們在比以前更為年輕的年齡時，就患上與酒精有關的疾病…現在迫切需要重新思考：我們該如何有效告知大眾過度飲酒的危害。有效傳達的最合理方式就是，像煙草產品一樣，在酒類產品上貼上標準的警示標簽。"

    " 酒精關注"（Alcohol Concern）機構總裁唐？申克（Don Shenker）說："許多人沒有意識到酒精和癌癥之間的聯系，然而，正如這一研究表明，酒精可以是造成該疾病的主要原因。雖然酒精性肝病仍然是與酒精相關的第一大致死疾病，然而越來越多的人開始患上口腔癌--無疑，創記錄的飲酒消費對此起著作用。

    世界癌癥研究基金會（World Cancer Research Fund）估計，如果沒人飲酒的話，英國約有41%的口腔癌可以避免。定期看牙醫有助于發現警報癥狀。