Alcoholic beverages as a breast cancer risk factor in Nigeria

Abstract

Evidence that alcoholic beverages consumption is causally related to Breast Cancer abound. There is also evidence that women in Nigeria are increasingly consuming alcoholic beverages. This has been attributed to the pervasive influence of globalization, economic empowerment of women and the upsurge of feminism. Women in Nigeria have also been misinformed that these alcoholic beverages have medicinal values e.g. enhancement of lactation, alleviation of menstrual discomfort, blood tonics and abortifacients. Furthermore, the brewing and marketing of the traditional alcoholic beverages are largely carried out by women who are also heavily exposed to volatile organic compounds which are additional breast cancer risk factors. Critical intervention strategies are community education and government policy interventions. The latter needs can be grouped under cultural issues, alcohol regulatory policy, the brewing industry marketing and promotional strategies, and other mediating factors such as the uncensored saturated images of alcohol consumption in
the mass media.