Alcohol cancer warning labels: US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy calls for urgent change to sector
Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the US surgeon general says in a move that could signal a shift towards more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector.
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer but most US consumers remain unaware of this.
Mr Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.US dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.
“Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity,” Mr Murthy’s office said in a statement accompanying the new report, adding the type of alcohol consumed does not matter.
His advisory sent shares in alcohol companies including Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken down, in some cases more than 3 per cent.
It is unclear when or if the surgeon general’s suggestions will be adopted.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is entering its final two weeks.
Mr Murthy could be succeeded by Janette Nesheiwat, a director of a New York chain of urgent care clinics and President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the role.
Mr Trump, whose brother died from alcoholism and who does not drink himself, has long warned about the risks of drinking.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, Mr Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, has been open about his past struggles with heroin and alcohol, and says that he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
The decision to update the label will ultimately be made by Congress.
Mr Murthy’s advisory harks back to early US surgeon general action on tobacco, starting with a 1964 report that concluded smoking could cause cancer.
The report kicked off decades of increasingly strict regulations, starting with US laws on warning labels one year later and still ongoing today.
Alcoholic drinks in the US already carry warnings on their packaging, including that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause birth defects and that it can impair judgment when operating machinery.
These appear in small print on the back of the packaging.
This label has not changed since its inception in 1988.
