Don't panic. Back to basics - www.sciencealert.com/so-processed-meat-has-been-classified-as-carcinogenic-here-s-what-you-need-to-know
"First off, when we talk about processed meats, we’re talking anything that has been salted, cured, fermented, or smoked, which means hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham, corned beef, dried meat such as beef jerky, and canned meat or meat-based sauces. Red meat, on the other hand, is classified as any mammalian muscle meat, so beef, veal, venison, and pork. "
and
"Next, we need to understand the classification system used by the IARC, which is the cancer-focussed arm of the WHO. Their job is to classify everything according to five possible categories: Group 1 is established carcinogens, Group 2A is "probably carcinogenic", Group 2B is "possibly carcinogenic", Group 3 is for things that cannot be classified, due to a lack of data, and Group 4 is "probably not carcinogenic". Group 4 includes just one entry: caprolactam, a substance used to make synthetic fibres such as the nylon in your yoga pants and brush bristles.
Two things about these groups. As Ed Yong points out at The Atlantic, the language used here, e.g. "probably" and "possibly", is fairly ambiguous, and not particularly helpful. But most importantly, while it’s easy to interpret the things in these categories as equal, they in no way impart the same risk of cancer as each other. For example, smoking tobacco and eating processed meat are both Group 1 carcinogens, but they do not give you the same risk of cancer. Not even close.
As this Cancer Research UK infographic illustrates, the risk of getting lung cancer if you smoke is extremely high. Studies have found that out of the 44,488 new cases of lung cancer in the UK in 2012, 86 percent of them were caused by tobacco. On top of that, research has shown that 19 percent of all types of cancers are caused by smoking. Add all that up, and if you got rid of smoking, you’d have 64,500 fewer cases of cancer in the UK every year.
By that same logic, if we got rid of processed meat, just 8,800 cases of cancer would be prevented in the UK every year. Both smoking and processed meat have been directly linked to cancer, but that doesn’t mean the level of risk is equal. "The classifications reflect how strong the base of evidence is," David Wallinga, senior health officer for the US Natural Resources Defense Council, told Kaleigh Rogers at Motherboard. "It doesn’t say anything about how strong of a carcinogen that particular thing is. It’s not saying eating hot dogs is as potent at causing cancer as being exposed to asbestos."
"As Joshua A. Krisch explains at Vocativ, right now, your lifetime risk of colorectal cancer is about *five percent. This means that if you eat 50 grams of processed meat (two rashers of bacon) every day, your risk for colorectal cancer increases by 18 percent of five percent - so your total risk is 5.9 percent.
"So don’t believe the headlines that try to get you to make that kind of connection in your head, such as this one from The Guardian earlier today: "Processed meats rank alongside smoking as cancer causes - WHO."
"A sausage sandwich or bacon and egg roll here and there isn't going to cause you much dramas, but you shouldn't be eating them more often than that anyway."
