A customer drinks a glass of beer at Saxton’s Pub in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2023.
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The U.S. Surgeon General issued a new advisory warning Friday about the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk and called for policy changes to reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers.
Chief American surgeon dr. Vivek Murthy said there was a “well-established” link between drinking alcohol and at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, esophageal and liver cancer. For cancers, including breast, mouth and throat cancers, the increased risk may start around one or fewer drinks a day, according to his office.
As part of the consultation, the Surgeon General called for policy changes that could help reduce alcohol-related cancers. He encouraged alcohol labels to be more visible and include a warning about the increased risk of cancer, to review the recommended limits of alcohol consumption based on the latest research, and to expand education to increase general awareness that alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer.
The efforts outlined in the advice are similar to those already implemented to reduce tobacco use, including a bunch of mandatory warnings on packages and in stores.
The Surgeon General advised people to consider the link between alcohol consumption and a higher risk of cancer when deciding whether or how much to drink.
Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable cancer in the US, behind only tobacco and obesity, according to the advisory.
“Alcohol is a well-established preventable cause of cancer and is responsible for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States — more than 13,500 alcohol-related deaths annually in U.S. traffic accidents — but most Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a press release.
Shares of alcohol producers including Molson-Coors and Anheuser-Busch it initially fell more than 1% after the advisory.
According to the advisory, 72% of American 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 cancer risk.
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.
Younger Americans already are more and more moving away from alcohol, and many have leaning into non-alcoholic alternatives. About two-thirds of adults aged 18 to 34 say that drinking alcohol negatively affects their health, compared to less than 40% of people aged 35 to 54 and 55 and over, according to Gallup survey published in August.
