The U.S. Surgeon General has urged that alcoholic drinks carry a warning about the cancer risks associated with their consumption. In a statement made on January 4, 2025, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy emphasized that alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, and liver cancer. Despite this, most consumers remain unaware of these risks. Murthy also called for a reassessment of the current guidelines on alcohol consumption limits, which recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or fewer for women. He suggested that people should be better informed about the cancer risks when deciding whether and how much to drink.
Murthy’s advisory highlights that alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., following tobacco and obesity. The Surgeon General’s office also noted that the type of alcohol consumed does not affect the cancer risk. This recommendation could lead to more stringent regulations on alcohol, similar to those applied to tobacco, particularly with regard to labeling.
Alcoholic beverage companies, including major players like Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Heineken, saw their shares drop in response to the advisory. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), which represents leading spirits makers, pointed to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This report suggests that moderate alcohol consumption is linked to lower rates of death from various causes, although it also acknowledges the increased risk of breast cancer. DISCUS argued that the current health warning on alcohol products already provides consumers with adequate information about the potential risks.
While it remains uncertain when or if these recommendations will be implemented, the decision to update alcohol labels would ultimately lie with Congress. This move by the Surgeon General echoes earlier actions taken on tobacco, which began in 1964 with a report linking smoking to cancer. The resulting regulations, including the introduction of warning labels on cigarette packaging, have evolved over time and could serve as a model for alcohol-related warnings.
Currently, alcohol labels in the U.S. include warnings about the risks of drinking during pregnancy and operating machinery, but these have remained unchanged since 1988. Murthy’s recommendation calls for an update to these existing labels, rather than introducing cigarette-style warnings that would be prominently displayed on every alcohol product.
The alcohol industry faces additional challenges, as alcohol sales in the U.S. have been declining following a post-pandemic boom, with competition from alternatives like cannabis and the rising popularity of low- or no-alcohol products. Beer makers, however, have benefited from the growing trend toward healthier lifestyles, with brands like Heineken’s 0.0 seeing significant growth.
Public health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have increasingly focused on the health risks of alcohol, citing that no level of alcohol consumption is entirely safe. The WHO’s stance has sparked debates about the impact of moderate drinking, which is still considered acceptable in some societies. The Mayo Clinic has noted that moderate alcohol intake poses a lower health risk, but the risk increases with higher consumption. According to the Surgeon General’s report, consuming two drinks a day would result in about five additional women and three additional men per 100 developing cancer.
The current U.S. dietary guidelines, which remain in place until 2025, are under scrutiny, with lobbying from alcohol companies concerned about potential changes that could align the U.S. with the WHO’s stance on alcohol consumption. Some countries, such as Ireland, have already implemented warning labels on alcoholic beverages, and the U.S. may follow suit. The Surgeon General’s advisory stresses that alcohol is responsible for approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the U.S.
