About five years ago, I received a news release in my email that said alcohol is a carcinogen and half of Americans were unaware of it. I was one of those.
So, it’s great news that the U.S. surgeon general recommended Friday that the warning label for alcoholic beverages be updated to include a cancer risk warning.
The surgeon general’s new advisory describes scientific evidence that alcohol consumption causes at least seven different types of cancer including breast, colon and rectum, esophagus, voice box, liver, mouth, and throat.
Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, causing nearly 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 deaths every year, according to the advisory. Only 45 percent adults are aware that alcohol causes cancer, a survey found, and the surgeon general’s advisory recommends that Congress amend the law to provide for a cancer risk warning on alcoholic beverage labels.
The alcohol industry has fought the cancer warning label for decades with misinformation, according to the Consumer Federation of America, a research and advocacy organization.
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer designated alcohol a Class I carcinogen in 1987. However, surveys have shown confusion among the public about the relationship between alcohol and cancer.
The federation and other consumer and health organizations have emphasized this disconnect in urging federal regulators to act to include a cancer risk warning, the federation said in a statement.
With the surgeon general’s advisory’s endorsement of a cancer warning, it’s now up to Congress to act. However, consumers may have to wait for new labels.
The alcohol industry has been successful at getting what it wants on Capitol Hill, recently convincing a group of congressional representatives to pressure a federal agency to abandon a study on alcohol’s health effects, the federation said.
In addition, the Trump Administration’s past interference in the 2020 Dietary Guidelines process – rejecting a scientific advisory committee’s advice to lower the recommended “moderate drinking” limit for men from two drinks to one – suggests the Trump administration may also be vulnerable to alcohol industry pressure, the federation said.
State and local governments, however, can act now using information in surgeon general’s advisory.
The advisory can also be used to shape how the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans address alcohol consumption.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public interest group, also applauds the surgeon general’s recommendation.
The science is clear: alcohol causes cancer, the center said in a statement.
The center, federation, American Institute for Cancer Research, and U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance requested the alcohol label be updated in a 2020 letter sent to the surgeon general saying that the current statement, alcohol “may cause health problems,” is a gross and misleading understatement of alcohol’s known health impacts.
I hope Congress will act to inform the public so the 100,000 cancer cases and the 20,000 deaths every year can be prevented. It’s shocking that only 45 percent adults are aware cancer deaths can be prevented by reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption.
great information, i will follow your advice . thank for sharing cancer