Surgeon General calls for cancer warning labels on alcohol

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. Surgeon General called for cancer warning labels to be placed on alcoholic beverages like packs of cigarettes in a report on Friday, highlighting a link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk.

Alcohol use is the third-leading cause of preventable cancer in the U.S. behind tobacco and obesity, according to a report released Friday. There are around 100,000 alcohol-related cancer cases and 20,000 cancer-related deaths annually, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Warning labels already affixed to alcoholic beverages warn about drinking while pregnant, before driving and operating heavy machinery about general health risks, but the surgeon general is calling for going further. Dr. Vivek Murthy is recommending labels be updated to include a notice about heightened risks of breast cancer, colon cancer and others that have been linked by studies to consumption of alcohol.

Some cancers, like breast, mouth and throat, are at higher risk of developing at one or fewer drinks per day, Murthy said.

According to an advisory published Friday, the largest burden of alcohol-related cancer in the U.S. is for breast cancer in women, with an estimated 44,180 cases in 2019, making up 16.4% of the approximately 270,000 total breast cancer cases. A vast majority, 83%, of the alcohol-related cancer deaths in the U.S. came among people who drink above the federally recommended limits of two drinks a day for men and one for women.

But 17% of the annual alcohol-related deaths occur among people drinking within the recommended limits.

“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 statement. “This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”

In addition to the warning label, Murthy’s advisory calls for a reassessment on the guidelines for consumption to account for cancer risk. According to a study included in the advisory, only 45% of Americans recognized alcohol use as a risk factor for cancer, compared to 91% for radiation exposure, 89% for tobacco use and 81% for asbestos exposure. Consumption guidelines recommending drinks each day are supported by the industry and some scientists for reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the No. 1 killer in the U.S.

It would take an act of Congress to mandate new warning labels like Murthy is calling for, and it’s uncertain whether there will be interest from a new Congress that is being seated Friday afternoon.