What alcohol does inside your body

A short read

Before we start

This describes what alcohol does in the body and how health agencies classify it. It does not tell anyone how much to drink, or whether to. Official guidance on amounts is being revised in several countries, so any number here would age badly. If you are worried about your own drinking, a doctor is a better place to take that than a page.

Sources

IARC Monographs Volume 100E, Personal Habits and Indoor Combustions — alcoholic beverages classified Group 1, with sufficient evidence for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectum and female breast, including at low and moderate intake
U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, 3 January 2025 (HHS) — the call for warning labels, the seven cancers, and alcohol as the third leading preventable cause of cancer