Almost half of the Hongkongers who consume alcohol go binge drinking, survey finds
- Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society says most are not aware they are heightening their chance of developing the disease
Almost half of the Hongkongers who drank alcohol between August and November went binge drinking at least once, according to a survey by a cancer awareness group.
The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society polled 1,019 people and found only 2 per cent were aware that drinking could increase the risk of breast cancer – the most common form of the disease among women in the city.
The findings were released on Sunday just days after a ban came into effect on Hongkongers under 18 years of age buying alcohol in shops.
Some 698 survey respondents said they had consumed alcohol in the prior three months. Forty-five per cent of these people had been binge drinking at least once in that period.
Binge drinking was defined as a minimum of five cans of beer, five glasses of wine or five shots of spirits in one sitting.
