Katie Couric Instagram – U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is urging the U.S. to adopt warning labels on alcoholic beverages, similar to those on cigarette packages. Alcohol, he noted, is responsible for over 100,000 cancer diagnoses and 20,000 related deaths each year.
Alcohol is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity. Dr. Murthy said, “Many people out there assume that as long as they’re drinking at the limits or below the limits of current guidelines of one a day for women and two for men, that there is no risk to their health or well-being. The data does not bear that out for cancer risk.”
He is calling for updated labels on alcoholic beverages to highlight the increased cancer risks associated with alcohol, including breast, colon, throat, liver, voice box, esophageal, and oral cancers.
Currently, alcohol labels only warn of risks related to pregnancy, operating machinery, and “other health problems.” These labels have remained unchanged since 1988. For this to change, Congress must amend current labeling laws. President-elect Donald Trump has said he does not drink, and RFK Jr., Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, has been sober for decades. | Posted on 03/Jan/2025 22:08:49
