Drinking increases risk.

2003 FEB 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Every drink a woman takes increases her chances of developing breast cancer. But researchers have cleared away the confusion over whether it's the cigarette she smokes along with the drink that leads to the cancer.

Now scientists are sure that it is the alcohol that matters, according to a report in the British Journal of Cancer (87:1234-1245).

The number of women developing breast cancer is increasing each year, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2002, more than 203,000 women were predicted to be diagnosed with the disease. In 2001 it was 192,000 women.

Part of the increase is due to the aging …