US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has recommended that alcoholic drinks carry warnings about cancer risks. The advisory highlights alcohol’s link to seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, and liver cancer, and urges updated consumption guidelines.
Published3 Jan 2025, 09:39 PM IST
us surgeon general calls for cancer warning labels alcoholic
In a significant move that could impact the alcohol industry, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has recommended that alcoholic drinks carry warnings about the cancer risks associated with consumption. The advisory highlights alcohol’s reported link to at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, and liver cancer, and aims to raiseus surgeon general calls for cancer warning labels alcoholic awareness of the health risks that many US consumers remain unaware of.
Key findings on alcohol and cancer
According to Vivek Murthy, alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity. Despite this, most people remain unaware of the connection between alcohol and cancer. The advisory calls for updated health guidelines on alcohol consumption to better inform individuals of the potential risks.us surgeon general calls for cancer warning labels alcoholic
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Alcohol consumption is linked to thousands of cases of cancer and is responsible for 100,000 cancer diagnoses and 20,000 deaths each year in the US.
Impact on the alcohol industry
Murthy‘s advisory has already sent shockwaves through the alcohol industry, causing stock prices for major companies such as Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Heineken to fall by over 3% in some cases.
- The recommendation would update existing alcohol warnings, which currently only caution about the risks of drinking during pregnancy and the potential for impaired judgment. Murthy’s proposed changes would include a clearer cancer warning on labels, akin to the warning labels on cigarette packages, which have been in place since 1965.
- Surgeon General calls for reassessment of alcohol consumption guidelines
- Alcohol consumption linked to seven types of cancer, report states
- European and U.S.-listed drinks makers’ shares fall
- Unclear when or if Surgeon General’s suggestions will be adopted
WASHINGTON/LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the U.S. Surgeon General said on Friday in a move that could signal a shift towards more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer, but most U.S. consumers remain unaware of this.
Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink. U.S. dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.
“Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity,” Murthy’s office said in a statement accompanying the new report, adding the type of alcohol consumed does not matter.