If you enjoy a drink now and then, you might want to hear what the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has to say. In a new warning, he’s made it clear: alcohol can raise your risk of cancer. And he thinks it’s time for that risk to be printed right on the bottle.
Surgeon general advisories don’t come out often—they’re saved for serious public health issues. Think back to 1964, when the government first linked smoking to cancer. That warning changed how Americans thought about cigarettes. Now, alcohol could be next in line.
What’s the Big Concern?
Dr. Murthy points out that alcohol is responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the U.S. That’s more than the number of deaths from alcohol-related car crashes.
But here’s the problem: most Americans don’t know this. In fact, a 2019 survey found that less than half of people believed that alcohol could cause cancer.
Many of us have heard that a glass of red wine might be good for the heart. But doctors are now saying that even light drinking might do more harm than good. Dr. Brian Lee, a liver doctor and alcohol researcher, says there's no real health benefit to drinking alcohol—just risks.
What Cancers Are Linked to Alcohol?
According to the advisory, drinking alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer, including:
Breast
Colon and rectum
Liver
Mouth
Throat
Esophagus (the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach)
Voice box
And it doesn’t matter what kind of alcohol you drink—beer, wine, whiskey—it all carries the same risk. The more you drink, the higher the danger.
How Does Alcohol Cause Cancer?
Scientists say alcohol causes cancer in a few key ways:
It breaks down into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA.
It creates free radicals, unstable molecules that harm cells.
It messes with your hormone levels, especially estrogen and testosterone, which can lead to hormone-related cancers like breast or prostate cancer.
It also lowers important nutrients like folate that help protect your body.
Plus, alcohol makes it easier for other cancer-causing stuff—like tobacco—to do more damage. So if you smoke and drink, the cancer risk gets even worse.
Does It Affect Everyone the Same Way?
Not exactly. Women face higher risks than men. For example, a woman who drinks one drink a day has about a 19% chance of developing an alcohol-related cancer in her lifetime. For men, that risk is lower, around 11% for the same amount.
This is partly because women are usually smaller, have more body fat, and process alcohol differently.
What’s Next?
Dr. Murthy is calling for new warning labels on alcohol bottles—just like the ones we see on cigarette packs. The current label hasn’t changed since 1988. Right now, it just mentions pregnancy and driving risks. But Murthy wants it to clearly say that alcohol increases cancer risk.
Doctors are backing him up. Many say their patients have no idea how dangerous alcohol can be. Some experts, like Dr. David Greenberg, say they’re thrilled the government is finally speaking up.
Still, no one’s saying you must stop drinking forever. If you do drink, experts suggest doing it less often and in smaller amounts. More people are already catching on—mocktails are trending, and younger adults are drinking less than older generations.
In the end, it’s all about making informed choices. If you know the risks, you can decide what’s right for you.
Source:
https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/alcohol-can…
https://public3.pagefreezer.com/browse/HHS.gov/21-01-2025T07:38/https:/…
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/14/health/alcohol-drinking-health-welln…
https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2024/12/new-report-reviews-evide…
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr2306723
https://news.gallup.com/poll/648413/alcohol-consumption-increasingly-vi…
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