A report that concluded nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the UK each year – over 130,000 in total – are caused by avoidable lifestyle ‘choices’ including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things, has been criticised for downplaying occupational and environmental cancer risks and the social class effects that consign many workers and their families to multiple risks.

D Max Parkin and others. The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in the UK in 2010, British Journal of Cancer, volume 105, Issue S2 (Si-S81), 6 December 2011. Alliance for Cancer Prevention news release. BBC News Online. The Guardian and related letters. Risks 536, 17 December 2011.