In case you missed it, something big happened in the alcohol world last week. United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk. In it, he pointed to a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and increased risk of cancer.
Now, while this might not seem like news to you, it’s a big deal because it might eventually mean that alcohol bottles will come with a cancer warning similar to those found on cigarette packages since 1965.
What this means
Dr. Murthy says that scientific evidence connecting alcohol use to cancer has been rapidly growing in the last few decades, even though at least half of all Americans aren’t even aware of it. This is why the Surgeon General recommends that the packaging (which already has some alcohol-related warnings) be updated to add a cancer warning.
“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 – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. – yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, said in a press release. “This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”
Bottom line
There’s a good chance we’ll soon see cancer warning on our favorite bottle of single malt Scotch, vodka, or bourbon. For most of us, this isn’t really a big deal. But it might be a shock to the supposed half of Americans who are unaware of the cancer risks associated with alcohol. Now might be a good time for these folks to read Dr. Murthy’s report on the links between the two so they won’t be so caught off guard.
