Alcoholic beverages should have warnings that they cause cancer in an updated label, the U.S. Surgeon General said Friday.
Alcohol is the third-leading causing of cancer after tobacco and obesity and increases the risk of seven types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, throat and liver, the surgeon general said.
Still, awareness among the public about alcohol causing cancer falls behind tobacco and obesity.
“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,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said.
The risks of alcohol causing cancer are even higher among women.
Less than one drink a week increases a women's cancer risk by nearly 17%, compared with 10% for men, according to a new report from the surgeon general.
Breast cancer from drinking alcohol is of particular concern to women: The risk of women developing breast cancer increases around 15% from two drinks a day, or 14 drinks a week.
Currently, the surgeon general's warning on alcohol states it "may cause health problems," which health advocates say grossly understates the risks.
"The science is clear: alcohol causes cancer," said Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Yet, too many Americans remain in the dark about the significant link between alcohol and cancer."
For the label to change, Greenthal said the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the surgeon general must report to Congress on the need for an update.
"We urge [the Treasury] and Congress to act swiftly to promote a more informed public and prevent the 20,000 annual cancer deaths attributable to alcohol," she said.