U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is urging for alcohol to carry a warning label that advises consumers about cancer risk. The surgeon general said alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., behind tobacco and obesity.
Leading health experts in Massachusetts agree with the move, arguing that the impacts of drinking have long been known, but business leaders are pushing back on the science and timing of the announcement.
“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States — greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. — yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a press release.
The surgeon general’s office said alcohol’s affects on the body include damaging DNA and altering hormone levels. About 83% of the alcohol-related cancer deaths each year are people who drink above the recommended limits of one drink a day for women or two drinks daily for men.
The office said alcohol consumption has been linked to higher risk of developing seven types of cancer: mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast, liver, and colon. Among women, breast cancer makes up about 60% of alcohol-related cancer deaths each year. Among men, liver cancer makes up approximately 33% of alcohol-related cancer deaths, followed by colon cancer at 21%.
Dr. Shuji Ogino, chief of molecular pathological epidemiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said he “agrees 100%” with the recommendation.
“I think it’s important to raise awareness so that we can take further actions at the societal level,” he said.
The labeling of alcohol could bear similar impacts to that of tobacco back in the 1960s, when experts sounded the alarm over its links to lung cancer.
“There are benefits of effective health warnings on products. We know that they increase health knowledge and risk perceptions among consumers,” said Elise Stevens, director of the Center for Tobacco Treatment, Research and Training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “They also encourage cessation of the product and they can prevent initiation of the products among youth.”
Stevens noted there were “many hurdles” to implementing warning labels on tobacco products, including the design of the labels and court battles.
Murthy recommends updating the existing surgeon general’s health warning label on alcohol containers to include cancer risk, and make the label more prominent. He also proposed reassessing recommended limits for alcohol consumption, increasing public education, and informing patients in clinical settings about the risk.
Some business advocates say the move is political, mentioning it comes in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“It also came out immediately after a mid-December report by the National Academies of Science that showed 'moderate drinking actually comes with some health benefits, including a lower risk of all-cause mortality.’ Coincidence?” said Robert Mellion, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association.
He said the industry has a long practice of encouraging customers to drink responsibly, and that the stores are the gatekeepers of illegal sales.
“They must be doing something right because consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors is at a historic low,” said Mellion, pointing to research from responsibility.org, a nonprofit funded by several distillers that aims to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking.
He said the organization’s members will “support a process that is objective, transparent, and based on sound science,” as the federal government continues its review of the 2025-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans.
