Most Australians are aware of the cancer risk associated with smoking, unprotected sun exposure and asbestos — but what about drinking alcohol?

Key points: Dr Emma Miller surveyed 1,600 Australians, more than 70 per cent agreed labels would raise awareness

Dr Emma Miller surveyed 1,600 Australians, more than 70 per cent agreed labels would raise awareness Alcohol consumption was declared a carcinogen in 1988

Alcohol consumption was declared a carcinogen in 1988 The alcohol industry does not support the move

Flinders University researcher Dr Emma Miller has been investigating whether alcohol products need to be branded with cancer warning labels in a bid to raise awareness.

She said the link between alcohol and cancer was "not open to dispute" — a claim supported by the Cancer Council.

"It's an absolute, definite, straight and direct link," she said.

However, the alcohol industry disagrees, saying it would oppose any cancer warning labels being placed on its products and there was "no scientific justification" for them.

Dr Miller said alcohol-related cancers were most likely to be found in soft-tissue, including the breast and bowel.

She put together a series of "mock labels" and surveyed how receptive 1,600 Australians — from a variety of backgrounds and drinking habits — would be to them.

Flinders University researcher Dr Emma Miller conducted the research. ( ABC News )

Some labels were simple with the message, "alcohol causes cancer", while others provided more information, including "three drinks a day increases your chance of bowel cancer by 20 per cent".

Dr Miller found more than 70 per cent of those surveyed agreed the labels would raise awareness, but about 50 per cent said it would not change their drinking habits.

"We found the Australian public is reasonably happy about the idea — as strange as it seems, most people want to be made aware about a risk they might be taking," she said.

"But the one thing that was a little bit disappointing was that most didn't think it would change their behaviour.

"One of the things that has been really strong throughout, despite this being a known carcinogen, no-one seems to be aware of the issue at all."

Alcohol was declared a carcinogen in 1988 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Cancer Council SA research and public policy general manager Alana Sparrow supports cancer warning labels on alcohol products. ( ABC News )

"It seems that the common response is, 'everything causes cancer' or 'it must be okay because everyone in society is drinking alcohol'," Dr Miller said.

"It is something that is so imbued in our lives — we drink when we're happy, we drink when we're sad, we drink when we're bored, we drink when we're celebrating, or when we're commiserating.

"It's just so much in the fabric of Australian society that it's difficult to think, that could turn around and give you cancer."

Current health warnings on alcohol are 'the size of a pea'

Dr Miller said "there was no way" she was suggesting people should not drink alcohol and understood why the industry was against it.

"What I'd like to do is have a sensible conversation about what the risk is," she said.

"At the moment, that fear about having to have graphic warnings on alcohol products is exactly what the industry most fears."

Dr Miller said she would like to work with the industry to come up with ways to better inform consumers of the cancer risk, to drink in moderation or not drink every day.

She said there was "something deliberate" about the placement and size of warnings already appearing on some alcohol products, including to not drink while pregnant and to drink responsibly.

"This was a voluntary code and it's on about just under 50 per cent of all alcohol products and our research and the research of others in this space has shown that most people aren't even aware that they're there," she said.

"It's very small — it's the size of a pea and it's on the back label, at the bottom, and often in a non-descript colour so it's not prominent at all."

Cancer survivor Mike Krause has changed his lifestyle after being diagnosed with cancer seven years ago. ( ABC News )

Cancer survivor Mike Krause said he was not aware that alcohol could cause cancer.

"I suspect there's a lot of things that can cause cancer — I think stress is a great influence on cancer, sugar I was aware of, but I wasn't aware alcohol perhaps had the same significant impact," he said.

"I think we should have warning labels on anything that says you're increasing your risk of cancer.

"I know we've seen it on tobacco and it's perhaps had a big impact on tobacco consumption. I think we should have warning labels on everything with high levels of sugar in it."

However, Alcohol Beverages Australia chairman Bryan Fry said there was no reason for this idea "to move any further".

"At the moment, we've got a lot of information for the consumer ... we're also looking at energy and nutritional labelling which is going to come through in the future," he said.

"But the most important labelling that's on the label today is actually the standard drink — one of the great things about Australia is that we rely on the standard drink."

Warning labels are a 'powerful' way of raising awareness

Cancer Council SA research and public policy general manager Alana Sparrow said there should be warning labels on all alcohol as people were often unaware of the link.

"So while you go into a shop and purchase a packet of cigarettes, it's abundantly clear what the health impacts of that are, people aren't necessarily that aware of the link between alcohol and things like cancer," she said.

A bottle of gin showcasing a possible label. ( ABC News )

"It's an incredibly powerful way of making sure that people are aware of that at the time when they are making a choice.

"We know how effective warning labels are."

Ms Sparrow said she was not surprised that Dr Miller's research found most people would not change their drinking behaviour if their beer or wine bottle was branded with a warning label.

"There is a history with these types of things, people will often look at things and say, 'oh look, that won't impact what I do'," she said.

"We saw that before things like the introduction of plain packaging with tobacco, but the reality is that since those measures have come into place, we have seen smoking rates absolutely going down."