U.S. Surgeon General Calls For Cancer Warning On Alcohol

The U.S. surgeon general has announced alcohol is a cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should contain a warning label as packs of cigarettes do.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says alcohol contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and is connected to 20,000 deaths a year.

Murthy stated, “Many people out there assume that as long as they’re drinking at the limits or below the limits of current guidelines of one a day for women and two for men, that there is no risk to their health or well-being.”

Alcohol is ‘third leading preventable cause of cancer’ and should have warning label, says US Surgeon General https://t.co/IMzxTXd1vq pic.twitter.com/zo8RFZkgKS

— New York Post (@nypost) January 3, 2025

Surgeon General calls for new label on drinks to warn Americans of alcohol’s cancer risk https://t.co/PLWqId4wfZ

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 3, 2025

Here’s what The New York Times reported:

Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday.

It is the latest salvo in a fierce debate about the risks and benefits of moderate drinking as the influential U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans are about to be updated. For decades, moderate drinking was said to help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

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That perception has been embedded in the dietary advice given to Americans. But growing research has linked drinking, sometimes even within the recommended limits, to various types of cancer.

Labels currently affixed to bottles and cans of alcoholic beverages warn about drinking while pregnant or before driving and operating other machinery, and about general “health risks.”

But alcohol directly contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said.

He called for updating the labels to include a heightened risk of breast cancer, colon cancer and at least five other malignancies now linked by scientific studies to alcohol consumption.

“Many people out there assume that as long as they’re drinking at the limits or below the limits of current guidelines of one a day for women and two for men, that there is no risk to their health or well-being,” Dr. Murthy said in an interview.

BREAKING: U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on Friday warning of a link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. pic.twitter.com/jqTisuvJxV

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) January 3, 2025

Per AP:

Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday.

Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.S. Congress.

Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, Murthy argues in his advisory, noting alcohol consumption is to blame for nearly one million preventable cancer cases in the U.S. over the last decade. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, according to his advisory.

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Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels that say pregnant women should not drink and that alcohol consumption can impair someone’s ability to drive a car. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.