A new study by Kasier Permanente found that the correlation of alcohol consumption and breast cancer is linked to the quantity of alcohol, and not affected by the source -- hard liquor, beer or wine. The study of 70,033 multi-ethnic women, who received health examinations between 1978 and 1985, shows that 2,829 of them developed breast cancer by 2004. Researchers found that drinking three or more alcoholic beverages a day increases breast cancer risk as much as smoking an entire packet of cigarettes or more per day.