Alcohol is ‘third leading preventable cause of cancer’ and should have warning label, says US surgeon general
Alcoholic drinks should carry a label warning consumers about their cancer risks, the US surgeon general said in an advisory today.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s office noted that consuming alcohol increases the risk for “at least seven types of cancer,” including breast, colon and liver.
“Alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer,” Murthy’s office said in a statement accompanying the new report.
It is responsible for 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths in the country each year, more than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash deaths, it added.
“The direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well-established for at least seven types of cancer including cancers of the breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx), regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) that is consumed,” the report said.
“For breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of total breast cancer cases are attributable to alcohol consumption.”
How does alcohol increase cancer risk?
There are a few ways that drinking can contribute to an increased likelihood of developing cancer. One is acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen that the body creates when it breaks down the ethanol in alcohol.
“This compound damages DNA and stops our cells from repairing the damage. This can allow cancerous cells to grow,” explained Dr. Therese Bevers, medical director of MD Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center.
It can also impact our hormones, which are involved in how our cells grow and divide. When that goes wrong, there’s room for cancer to develop. What’s more, drinking interferes with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients like iron, selenium, folate, and vitamins A, B1, B6, C, D, E and K.
Excess alcohol intake can contribute to weight gain, and being overweight or obese has been linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer, including in the breasts, liver, ovaries, kidneys, thyroid, and colon and rectum.
Breast cancer and booze — and the heart health debate
Some people might be surprised that more than 1 in 6 breast cancer cases can be attributed to alcohol, but Dr. Cindy Cen, a surgical oncologist at Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lake Success, has been warning her patients for years.
“And I can’t tell you how many patients don’t know that,” she told The Post.
“They’ve heard that it’s helpful for heart health. Some red wine, in the past, has been touted as good for your health — but really, those links have been cast into doubt.”
Though she doesn’t think people need to cut out alcohol, she recommends less than one or two drinks a week: “Less is better than the more and none is better than all the rest.”
And if you have any family history of cancer, she recommends being even more cautious. “Alcohol intake is one of the lifetime lifestyle factors that can be modified right,” she added, along with diet and physical activity.
Numbers don’t lie
In September, the American Association for Cancer Research reported that 5% of all cancer cases are caused by drinking alcohol. They also found that 51% of Americans are not aware that alcohol increases cancer risk.
Even light drinking has been associated with an increase in cancer deaths in recent research.
It’s not just cancer, either. In 2023, an Oxford University study showed that any amount of alcohol can increase the risk of developing at least one of more than 60 diseases, including more than 30 illnesses not previously linked to alcohol.
Will the warnings go into effect?
The Surgeon General’s report today 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, alongside current warnings on birth defects and impairments when operating machinery.
It further advised public health professionals, health care providers and community groups to highlight alcohol as a leading preventable cause of cancer and expand education on the subject.
It is unclear when or if the surgeon general’s suggestions will be adopted. President Biden’s administration is entering its final two weeks, and Murthy could be succeeded by Janette Nesheiwat, a director of a New York chain of urgent care clinics and President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the role.
Trump, whose brother died from alcoholism and who does not drink himself, has long warned about the risks of drinking. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, has been open about his past struggles with heroin and alcohol, and says he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The decision to update the label will ultimately be made by Congress.
Dr. Cen, the surgical oncologist, believes it would make a big difference. “I think the idea of labeling drinks is going to really help save a lot of lives, because I don’t think any a lot of women know that there is a correlation. So the awareness is definitely a great thing,” she said.
Murthy’s advisory harks back to early US surgeon general action on tobacco, starting with a 1964 report that concluded smoking could cause cancer. The report kicked off decades of increasingly strict regulations, starting with US laws on warning labels one year later and still ongoing today.
Alcoholic drinks in the US already carry warnings on their packaging, including that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause birth defects and that it can impair judgment when operating machinery. These appear in small print on the back of the packaging. This label has not changed since its inception in 1988.
Murthy’s recommendations call for an update to these existing labels, rather than new cigarette-style warnings that are today displayed prominently on the front of every packet.
Surgeon general’s report impacts stock market
Murthy’s advisory sent shares in alcohol companies including Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken down, in some cases over 3%.
Alcohol producers and industry associations did not immediately share comments.
