The U.S. Surgeon General said alcoholic beverages should carry cancer warnings to increase awareness that the drinks are a leading cause of preventable cancers.
The advisory issued Friday by Dr. Vivek Murthy would require an act of Congress to change the existing warning labels on bottles of beer, wine and liquor, which discuss the risks of alcohol in pregnancy and intoxicated driving.
“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,” Murthy said. “Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk.”
Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity. The link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk has been established for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box, Murthy said.
The decision, in the final days of the Biden administration, follows a yearslong debate within the health and scientific community about how much consumption of wine, beer and spirits is safe for adults.
Averaging no more than about one drink a day carries relatively low risk, according to scientists who study alcohol. They warn the risk of cancer rises significantly when you exceed that.
The Surgeon General’s decision spooked investors, who sent shares of big beer and spirits companies such as AB InBev and Diageo, lower in premarket trading on Friday.
—Nicholas Hatcher contributed to this article.
Write to Laura Cooper at laura.cooper@wsj.com and Brianna Abbott at brianna.abbott@wsj.com
