Anger at breast cancer charity's wine promotion

Breast cancer support groups are outraged that a charity which raises money to find a cure for the disease is encouraging supporters to buy cases of wine despite numerous studies showing drinking alcohol dramatically increases the risk of getting breast cancer.

The Breast Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) has sent emails to supporters promoting an offer by Vintage Wines & Spirits offering $100 off cases of Vavasour Rose sold to trust supporters and donating $40 from every sale to the trust. The trust is also sponsored by Moet and Chandon, which supplies alcohol for fundraising events.

Trust chief executive, Alison Taylor, downplayed the links between alcohol and breast cancer. "There's a lot of information about a lot of things that are supposed to have an impact on breast cancer... we've had a relationship with the company for a while in terms of supporting our events so we didn't see that it was contrary to where we stood."

The trust's medical adviser, surgeon John Harman, also downplayed the links, saying alcohol was one of 200 possible risk factors and the major factors were "age and sex".

But researcher Sue Claridge, of the Breast Cancer Network, was staggered by the BCRT's promotion. "I can't believe they aren't aware of the links, that would suggest an ignorance that defies belief really... the other option is that in the face of an opportunity to make money, they've decided that money is more important."

Some studies say that drinking as little as a glass or two of wine a day can increase a woman's breast cancer risk by up to 50%. Claridge said the wine promotion was a classic case of "pink washing", where companies which sell products potentially contributing to breast cancer hitch their wagon to the cause for marketing purposes. She said the BCRT was focused solely on finding a cure its stated aim is to do so within a decade but ignored prevention messages.

The BCRT's stance is also out of step with the NZ Cancer Society, which is about to advise cancer groups to drop their association with liquor companies.

Chief executive Dalton Kelly said it was time to "seriously address" the issue of alcohol sponsorship. "There is more and more evidence coming through internationally about the link between alcohol and cancer," he said.

"It's a repeat of how things were 15 years ago with an enormous amount of tobacco company sponsorship in the charity market today that just doesn't happen."

Kelly said alcohol companies had sponsored some of the society's events and profits from wine sales had gone to Daffodil Day fundraising, but probably no longer.

"We certainly don't want to be promoting anything that might increase the incidence of cancer. In tough economic times the charity dollar is absolutely vital to us, but our main mission is the prevention of cancer and that's far, far more important than the dollar value."

Claridge said the BCRT's promotion was also worrying because of the increasing incidence of binge drinking by young women. Alcohol consumption was one area where women could do something to lower their risk.

- © Fairfax NZ News