US Surgeon General calls for cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks

Alcoholic drinks should carry a label warning consumers about their cancer risks, the US Surgeon General said in an advisory on Friday, noting that their consumption increases the risk of developing breast, colon, liver and other cancers.

 

US Surgeon General Vivek 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, alongside current warnings on birth defects and impairments when operating machinery.

 

"Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer," Murthy's office said in a statement accompanying the new report.

 

It is responsible for 100,000 US cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year, more than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash deaths, it added.

 

"The direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well-established for at least seven types of cancer... regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) that is consumed," the statement said, including cancers of the esophagus, mouth, throat and voice box. 

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