To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Health warning labels on alcohol should be updated to include a cancer risk warning, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday, adding that recommended limits for alcohol consumption should also be reassessed, given the increased risk of certain cancers.
Alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States behind tobacco and obesity, Vivek H. Murthy said in an advisory. It contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, he added.
The link between alcohol and cancer has been established for decades. The National Toxicology Program in 2000 listed alcoholic beverages as a carcinogen, while an agency of the World Health Organization began doing so in 1987. But most Americans do not know about the connection, Murthy said.
“This evidence has been building. It’s been getting stronger and stronger,” Murthy said in an interview. “And it’s at a point where people need to know about this.”
With Republicans taking control of Congress and only a few weeks left until a new presidential administration takes over, it’s unclear how far Murthy’s recommendations will go.
Any mandatory changes to the health warning labels would need to be approved by Congress, and conservatives often resist government public health requirements. President-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, has announced Janette Nesheiwat, a family and emergency medicine physician and onetime Fox News contributor, as his pick for surgeon general.
A spokeswoman for the Trump transition team did not immediately return a request for comment. Trump has said he does not drink, citing his alcoholic brother who died young. Nesheiwat has warned of the health dangers of alcohol generally in her role as a medical commentator.
Alcohol can trigger cancer by disrupting metabolism and damaging DNA, researchers have found, including when it alters breast tissue by increasing estrogen. Alcohol can also alter cells in the mouth and throat, making it easier to absorb carcinogens such as tobacco smoke.
For those who are light drinkers, the surgeon general’s advisory doesn’t mean you are definitely going to develop cancer from drinking, said Otis Brawley, a professor of oncology and epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. The risk is slightly higher for “light, social drinkers,” and that risk increases for binge drinkers.
Research has shown that alcohol increases the risk of cancer in the breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box, according to the surgeon general. There is inconsistent or no evidence of an association between alcohol and other types of cancer, including of the ovary, stomach, prostate and bladder, according to the National Cancer Institute.
“Overall, there is scientific consensus that alcohol is a carcinogen,” said Eden Bernstein, an assistant professor of hospital medicine at the University of Colorado who studies the health consequences of alcohol. “However, the link between alcohol use and cancer risk does vary by amount of alcohol use and type of cancer.”
The risk of breast, throat and mouth cancer increases even with one or fewer drinks a day, according to the surgeon general. And the risk further increases the more someone drinks.
Five in 100 additional women and three in 100 additional men will develop cancer by having two drinks a day, compared with those who have less than one drink a week. Those estimates are based on data examining drinking habits and cancer incidence among more than 200,000 Australians.
It’s not easy to calculate individual odds of getting cancer based on a patient’s drinking habits because so many other factors are at play, including family history, weight and lifestyle choices such as smoking and exercise. Some doctors will highlight the link between alcohol and cancer to urge people who are already at elevated risk to cut back or stop drinking.
“Cancer risk is complex,” said Andrew Chan, director of cancer epidemiology at Mass General Cancer Center. “This latest development really demonstrates there is a lot an individual can do to reduce their risk of cancer, and we as a society need to think about potential opportunities for prevention.”
Most women who died of alcohol-attributed cancer had breast cancer, while most male deaths involved liver cancer, according to estimates from a recent analysis of cancer statistics and data on alcohol sales and consumption.
Walter Willett, an epidemiologist who has studied the link between alcohol and breast cancer for decades, said a small but significant increase in the risk for breast cancer starts with even several drinks a week.
“The breast seems particularly sensitive to small doses of alcohol,” said Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. “It doesn’t mean women should absolutely not drink alcohol, but they should have that information available to make their own personal decisions.”
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, an industry group, acknowledged evidence of the cancer risks highlighted by Murthy, but said existing warning labels have long informed consumers about the potential risks of alcohol.
“We do not recommend that anyone drink to achieve health benefits and urge all adults who choose to consume alcohol to consult their health provider to determine what is best for them,” Amanda Berger, the organization’s senior vice president of science and research, said in a statement.
In his advisory, Murthy described health warning labels as “well-established and effective approaches to increasing awareness of health hazards and fostering behavior change.”
He noted that the current label statements, which warn about drinking alcohol during pregnancy and the impact of alcohol on driving a car or operating machinery, have not been updated since 1988.
People can lower their cancer risk by drinking less, the surgeon general report said. One recent review of scientific literature by the International Agency for Research on Cancer found that alcohol cessation or reduction decreases the risk of oral and esophageal cancer, but the surgeon general said more research is needed to draw similar conclusions for other types of cancer.
