Drinking in the sun increases risk of skin cancer

EXPATS you have been warned: Drinking a skinful in the sun increases the risk of skin cancer by 50%, claim experts.

Scientists are urging people to be careful about alcohol consumption while outdoors.

Enjoying three or four drinks a day does more than make us forget to put sun cream on, it triggers a chain of reactions in the body that makes the skin more vulnerable to melanoma.

Even one drink a day raises the chances of developing melanomas by 10%. But for heavier drinkers it can be up to 55%.

The ethanol in alcohol is ingested and converted into acetaldehyde, which may render the skin more sensitive to harmful UV light.

“This can lead to far greater cellular damage and subsequently cause skin cancers to form,” said researcher Dr Eva Negri.

The researchers, whose studies are published in the British Journal of Dermatology, reviewed more than 6,200 patients with melanoma.