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.

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