US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in a recommendation on Friday that alcoholic beverages should carry a cancer risk warning on their packaging, in a move that may signal a shift toward more stringent regulatory measures similar to those imposed on the tobacco sector.
Murthy warned that alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, and liver cancer, but most American consumers are still ignorant of this.
Murthy called for alcohol consumption limit guidelines to be re-evaluated so people can weigh cancer risks when deciding whether or not to drink or how much to drink, alongside current warnings about birth defects and the risk of impairment when operating machinery.
US dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.
In a statement accompanying the new recommendation, Murthy’s office said that alcohol consumption “is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity,” adding that the type of alcohol consumed does not matter.
Murthy’s recommendation pushed alcoholic beverage company stocks down by more than 3% in some cases.
Alcohol producers and industry manufacturers’ associations have not yet issued comments.
It is not clear when or if the suggestions of the chief surgeon in the United States will be adopted, at a time when the administration of US President Joe Biden is entering its final two weeks.
Murthy succeeds Janet Neshewat, director of a chain of urgent care clinics in New York and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to take over Murthy’s position.
Trump, whose brother died of alcoholism and who himself does not drink alcohol, has long warned of the dangers of drinking alcohol.
Robert F. was Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, is open about his past struggles with heroin and alcohol, and says he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The decision to update labels rests with Congress.
Save lives
Health bodies such as the World Health Organization are increasingly turning their attention to alcohol after progress has been made in imposing stronger controls on tobacco.
The World Health Organization says that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, as even a small amount of alcohol can harm health, a position that has sparked a tense debate about the impact of moderate alcohol consumption and its role in society.
Current US dietary guidelines run until 2025, and companies such as DeGeo and Heineken are lobbying officials before the change, according to records, amid concerns that the US may adopt the World Health Organization’s language on safe consumption.
The statement explained that alcohol is responsible for 100,000 cancer cases in the United States and 20,000 cancer deaths every year, that is, more than the 13,500 deaths resulting from alcohol-related traffic accidents.