Alcohol health risks have been highlighted by research that shows that women who drink two glasses or more a day of wine are 50 per cent more likely to get breast cancer. The findings have been published in tandem with the announcement of a new £6 million government-funded campaign to better educate people in the dangers the substance can have on their bodies. Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK's director of health information, stated that alcohol can increase the levels of oestrogen in the body, which in turn could lead to the likelihood of breast cancer being raised.

She said: "The simple message is that the more you drink the greater your cancer risk, but the more you cut down the more you reduce that risk. "The study also found that females are twice as likely to have high blood pressure - which could lead to a stroke or a heart attack - if they are consuming at least two glasses of wine a day. Drinkaware recently revealed that a new medical advisory panel is to be set up by the charity to look at the dangers associated with alcohol abuse.