The report urges action on outdated warning labels
Alcohol Justice has praised U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for releasing the “Alcohol and Cancer Risk Report,” which spotlights the significant link between alcohol consumption and cancer. This report emphasises alcohol as a leading behavioural risk factor for cancer and aims to enhance public awareness about this growing health concern.
The report calls on Congress to update outdated cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages, highlighting the inadequacy of current federal policies in educating Americans about alcohol-related cancer risks. It points out that nearly 1 million cancer cases in the U.S. over a decade are linked to alcohol, with 1 in 6 occurring among individuals who drink within federal guidelines. Women bear a particularly heavy burden, as nearly 60 per cent of alcohol-related cancer deaths are attributed to breast cancer.
Notably, the report reaffirms that any level of alcohol consumption increases cancer risk, aligning with global research that finds no safe level of alcohol intake.
Rob Lipton, PhD, Development Director at Alcohol Justice, criticised past claims of alcohol’s health benefits, attributing them to flawed, industry-influenced science. He stressed the consistency of evidence linking alcohol to significant health harms.
The Surgeon General’s report underscores the urgency of updating federal alcohol warning labels, which have remained unchanged for 35 years despite growing evidence and a federal mandate to revise them as new data emerges.
