Surgeon General Calls for Alcohol Cancer Warning Labels

The U.S. Surgeon General has called for warning labels on alcohol, citing growing evidence linking alcohol consumption to cancer. In a January 3 advisory, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy highlighted the connection between alcohol use and at least seven types of cancer, including breast, liver, and colon. He also noted that fewer than half of Americans are aware of the cancer risks associated with drinking.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health experts weighed in on the topic in various media outlets. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition, discussed the link between alcohol and breast cancer, emphasizing the particular sensitivity of breast tissue to even small doses of alcohol. "It doesn’t mean women should absolutely not drink alcohol, but they should have that information available to make their own personal decisions," Willett said in a Washington Post article.

Eric Rimm, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology, expressed surprise that such a large portion of the U.S. population remains unaware of the alcohol-cancer connection, given that this information has been known for decades. In an interview on The World, Rimm explained that alcohol increases cancer risk by damaging DNA, particularly in areas of the body alcohol comes into contact with, such as the mouth, throat, liver, and colon. He added that alcohol’s impact on hormone levels contributes to the higher breast cancer risk.

Rimm voiced concerns about the potential unintended consequences of warning labels on alcohol, fearing they might discourage moderate drinking or create unnecessary guilt. "What I would hate for it to do is to scare people away," he said. "For cigarettes, the risk was twenty times what we’re talking about now for alcohol and breast cancer."

Timothy Rebbeck, a cancer prevention expert at Harvard, noted that while labeling alcohol is a step forward, it is just the beginning. In an interview with USA Today, Rebbeck drew a comparison to the long process of curbing smoking, which began with a Surgeon General warning in 1964 and involved decades of public health efforts such as banning advertisements and taxing cigarettes. "It’s going to be the same for alcohol," he said.

While the Surgeon General’s advisory on alcohol and cancer has sparked discussion, experts agree that more work is needed to raise public awareness and develop effective strategies to reduce alcohol-related cancer risks.