Outgoing surgeon general calls for cancer risk warnings on alcohol labels
Consumption of alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, and beverages that contain it should carry a warning label, according to a surgeon general advisory published Jan. 3.
In a media release highlighting the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says alcohol consumption is related to around 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 deaths annually.
The advisory lists seven cancers found to have a direct link to alcohol consumption – breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box – regardless of the type of alcohol consumed.
Cancer risk increases as consumption increases. For cancers such as breast, mouth and throat, evidence shows that cancer development risk begins to increase with one or fewer drinks per day.
In addition to a call for the Surgeon General’s health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages to include cancer risk, the advisory recommends:
- A reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption to account for cancer risk.
- Making available the information people need to be aware of the relationship between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk when considering whether or how much to drink.
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