Among women who consume alcohol regularly, reducing alcohol consumption is a potential means to reduce breast cancer risk. JAMA.

According to the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer, alcohol consumption was positively associated with the risk of invasive breast cancer. Women who consume on average 2 - 5 drinks per day had a relative risk compared with non-drinkers or women who drink one glass a day. In their continuous analyses, breast cancer risk was significantly elevated by 9% for each 10 g/d (one drink a day) increase in alcohol intake for intakes up to 60 g/d (5-6 drinks a day).

Study published by the American Cancer Society suggested that having more than one drink a day raises a women’s risk of dying of breast cancer by 11% .

Findings suggest that light consumption of alcohol or any type of alcoholic beverage is not associated with increased breast cancer risk. Alcohol consumption at higher levels has been found to be associated with breast cancer risk in several studies. American Journal of Epidemiology

Alcohol appears in the blood within 5 minutes after ingestion and reaches its highest blood-alcohol level in 30-60 minutes. Alcohol is transported through the bloodstream to all parts of the body.

Some of the effects of long term use of alcohol are: loss of inhibitions; flushing and dizziness; loss of coordination; impaired motor skills; slow reactions; blurred vision; high blood pressure; irregular pulse; damage to the lining of the stomach; birth defects; high risk of cancer; lung disease; brain damage, and  cancer to the liver; just to name a few.

More than 50 % of women in the U.S. age 18 and older are current drinkers, according the data gathered by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Someone is killed in an alcohol-related crash every 30 minutes (CDC and Prevention).