Alcohol labels should bear cancer risk warnings, according to the U.S. surgeon general.

• A new advisory warning from the U.S. surgeon general highlights the link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of cancer.
• Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General, urged for the inclusion of additional labels indicating the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer.
• The third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S. is alcohol consumption, which increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, as per the advisory.

On Friday, the U.S. surgeon general issued a new advisory warning about the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk, and urged for policy changes to decrease the number of alcohol-related cancers.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, stated that there is a well-established link between alcohol consumption and at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectum, esophagus, and liver. According to his office, the increased risk for cancers such as breast, mouth, and throat may start with one or fewer drinks per day.

The surgeon general urged for policy modifications to decrease cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption. He advocated for clearer and more prominent alcohol labels with cancer warnings, reassessed alcohol consumption limits based on new research, and increased public education on the link between alcohol and cancer.

The advisory's recommendations are similar to those already implemented to reduce tobacco use, such as mandatory warning labels on packaging and in stores.

When deciding whether to drink and how much, individuals should consider the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk, as advised by the surgeon general.

The third leading cause of cancer in the U.S. is alcohol consumption, as per the advisory, which places it behind only tobacco and obesity.

Murthy stated in a press release that while alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer, responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States, it is still a greater risk than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. However, the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk.

The stock prices of alcohol manufacturers, including and, fell more than 1% after the advisory.

While 72% of U.S. adults consumed one or more drinks per week from 2019 to 2020, only about half of all adults are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk.

In 2020, the surgeon general reported that 741,300 cancer cases globally were linked to alcohol consumption.

On average, those who die from alcohol-related cancer have their lives shortened by 15 years.

A Gallup survey from August reveals that more than half of young adults aged 18 to 34 believe that alcohol consumption has a negative impact on their health, compared to less than 60% of those aged 35 to 54 and over 55.