A customer drinks a glass of beer at the Saxton Pub in Austin, Texas, April 5, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
The U.S. Surgeon General issued a new advisory warning Friday about the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk and urged policy changes to help reduce alcohol-related cancers.
US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said there is a “well-established” link between drinking alcohol and the incidence of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, esophagus and liver. For cancers including breast, mouth and throat cancer, his office says, the increased risk may start with one or fewer drinks a day.
As part of the recommendation, the surgeon general called for policy changes that could help reduce alcohol-related cancers. He urged alcohol labels to be more visible and include warnings about the increased risk of cancer, to reassess recommended alcohol consumption limits based on the latest research, and to expand education to increase general awareness that alcohol consumption increases cancer risk.
The efforts described in the guide are similar to those already implemented to reduce tobacco use, including lots of mandatory warnings on packaging and in stores.
The surgeon general advised patients to consider the link between alcohol consumption and a greater risk of cancer when deciding whether to drink and how much to drink.
The report found that alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity.
“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer, causing approximately 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States – more than the 13,500 alcohol-related traffic fatalities annually in the United States – and yet most Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a press release.
Shares of alcohol producers, including: Molson-Coors AND Anheuser-Busch initially fell by more than 1% following the recommendation.
According to the guide, 72% of U.S. adults said they had one or more drinks per week in 2019-2020, but less than half of adults are aware of the link between drinking and cancer risk.
Globally, 741,300 cancer cases were attributed to alcohol consumption in 2020, according to the Surgeon General.
Deaths from alcohol-related cancer shorten the lives of those who die by an average of 15 years.
Younger Americans are here more and more giving up alcohol, and many do leaning over non-alcoholic alternatives. According to the data, about two-thirds of adults aged 18 to 34 say that alcohol consumption negatively affects their health, compared with less than 40% of people aged 35 to 54 and 55 and over. Gallup study released in August.