A customer drinks a glass of beer at the Saxton Pub in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
The US surgeon general issued a new advisory on Friday about the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk, and pushed for policy changes to help reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers.
The Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said there is a “well-established” link between alcohol and at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophagus and liver. For cancers including breast, mouth and throat cancers, the increased risk may begin around one or fewer drinks per day, according to his office.
As part of the advisory, the surgeon general called for policy changes that could help reduce alcohol-related cancer. He pushed for alcohol labels to be more visible and include a warning about the increased risk of cancer, to reassess the recommended limits for alcohol consumption based on the latest research and expand education for increase general awareness that alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer.
The efforts described in the advice are similar to those already implemented to reduce the use of tobacco, including a lot of notices posted on packaging and in stores.
The surgeon general advised people to consider the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of major cancer when deciding whether to drink or how much to have.
Alcohol consumption is the third preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after only tobacco and obesity, according to the council.
“Alcohol is a well-established and preventable cause of cancer, responsible for approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 deaths annually in the United States – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-related traffic accident deaths annually in the United States – but the majority of Americans are not aware of this risk,” Murthy said in a press release.
Actions of alcohol producers, including Molson-Coors and Anheuser-Busch initially decreased more than 1% after the advice.
According to the advisory, 72% of US adults said they had one or more drinks per week between 2019 and 2020, but less than half of all adults are aware of the link between drinking and the risk of cancer.
Worldwide, 741,300 cancer cases were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2020, according to the surgeon general.
On average, alcohol-related cancer deaths shorten the lives of those who die by 15 years.
Young Americans already are more and more stay away from alcohol, and many are leaned into non-alcoholic alternatives. About two-thirds of adults ages 18 to 34 say alcohol consumption negatively affects health, versus less than 40% of people ages 35 to 54, and 55 and over, according to the survey. a Gallup poll released in August.
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2025-01-03 19:30:00
