For women, drinking a weekly bottle of wine increases the lifetime risk of cancer to the same extent as smoking 10 cigarettes per week, according to the study, mostly due to an increased risk of breast cancer.

For men, drinking a bottle of wine a week increases the risk of cancer equivalent to smoking five cigarettes, the researchers said. This is due to the risk of cancer in parts of the body such as the bowel, liver and oesophagus, Huffington Post reports.

Chief medical officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has suggested women should “think about breast cancer” whenever they reach for a glass of wine. Cheery.

The researchers – from the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Bangor University and University of Southampton – estimated that if 1,000 non-smoking men and 1,000 non-smoking women each drank one bottle of wine per week across their lifetime, around 10 men and 14 women could develop cancer as a result.

And if 1,000 men and 1,000 women drank three bottles of wine per week throughout their lives (roughly half a bottle each night), around 19 men and 36 women could develop cancer as a result.

They found three bottles a week is equivalent to smoking about eight cigarettes per week for men and 23 cigarettes per week for women.

Writing in the journal BMC Public Health, the team said alcohol is generally perceived by the public as being “far less harmful” than smoking, despite being directly linked to several different types of cancer.