Alcohol and cancer: a new warning from a US surgeon caused panic in the market
4 january 2025 в 00:13
When the US Surgeon General issued a warning about alcohol consumption and its presumed link to cancer on Friday, January 3, alcohol company stocks plummeted. According to the New York Post, shares of American and European alcohol producers fell after the statement about the need to place cancer warnings on alcoholic beverage labels. This news shocked the public, considering the popularity of alcohol consumption. According to Gallup, Inc., in 2022, 63% of middle-class individuals aged 18 and older reported drinking. Among those earning over $ 100,000, a whopping 80% reported alcohol consumption.
What exactly does the warning say, and what do we know about the Surgeon General who issued it? Is there really a connection between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer? To find out more, click below.
Vivek Murthy is the current Surgeon General of the United States. The British-American physician is also a vice admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. According to Wikipedia, he served as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General under former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, as well as current President Joe Biden. He will leave his post on January 20.
According to NPR, the new warning establishes a link between alcohol and seven types of cancer. «Alcohol is the third largest preventable cause of cancer after tobacco and obesity», - he told the publication. «Just to put this into perspective, alcohol accounts for about 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States annually and 20,000 cancer deaths».
Murthy also, according to NPR, named seven types of cancer associated with alcohol consumption. These include colorectal, esophageal, vocal cord, mouth, liver, breast, and throat cancer. «For some types of cancer, such as breast, mouth, and throat cancer, evidence shows that the risk of developing cancer may begin to increase with the consumption of one or fewer drinks per day», - Murthy wrote in the warning. «Alcohol consumption is the third largest preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing the risk for at least seven types of cancer», - he added in a statement accompanying the report.
The decision on whether to follow Murthy’s warning and add cancer warnings to labels will ultimately be made by Congress.
The report asserts a «direct link» between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. «The direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well established for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and vocal cord (larynx), regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) consumed», - the report states. «For breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of all breast cancer cases are attributed to alcohol consumption».
The National Cancer Institute supports claims of a link between alcohol and cancer. «There is strong scientific consensus that alcohol consumption can cause several types of cancer», - the website states. It adds that «the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services classifies the consumption of alcoholic beverages as known human carcinogens».
Continuing, the National Cancer Institute newsletter claims that «data indicate that the more alcohol a person consumes, especially if they consume alcohol regularly over a long period of time, the higher their risk of developing alcohol-related cancer. Even those who drink no more than one drink per day and those who abuse alcohol (those who consume 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men in one sitting) have a moderately increased risk of some types of cancer. Based on 2009 data, approximately 3.5% of cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths) were associated with alcohol».
The newsletter also claims «clear patterns» between alcohol consumption and types of cancer, including liver, breast, colorectal, and brain cancer
What exactly does the warning say, and what do we know about the Surgeon General who issued it? Is there really a connection between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer? To find out more, click below.
Vivek Murthy is the current Surgeon General of the United States. The British-American physician is also a vice admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. According to Wikipedia, he served as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General under former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, as well as current President Joe Biden. He will leave his post on January 20.
According to NPR, the new warning establishes a link between alcohol and seven types of cancer. «Alcohol is the third largest preventable cause of cancer after tobacco and obesity», - he told the publication. «Just to put this into perspective, alcohol accounts for about 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States annually and 20,000 cancer deaths».
Murthy also, according to NPR, named seven types of cancer associated with alcohol consumption. These include colorectal, esophageal, vocal cord, mouth, liver, breast, and throat cancer. «For some types of cancer, such as breast, mouth, and throat cancer, evidence shows that the risk of developing cancer may begin to increase with the consumption of one or fewer drinks per day», - Murthy wrote in the warning. «Alcohol consumption is the third largest preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing the risk for at least seven types of cancer», - he added in a statement accompanying the report.
The decision on whether to follow Murthy’s warning and add cancer warnings to labels will ultimately be made by Congress.
The report asserts a «direct link» between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. «The direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well established for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and vocal cord (larynx), regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) consumed», - the report states. «For breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of all breast cancer cases are attributed to alcohol consumption».
The National Cancer Institute supports claims of a link between alcohol and cancer. «There is strong scientific consensus that alcohol consumption can cause several types of cancer», - the website states. It adds that «the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services classifies the consumption of alcoholic beverages as known human carcinogens».
Continuing, the National Cancer Institute newsletter claims that «data indicate that the more alcohol a person consumes, especially if they consume alcohol regularly over a long period of time, the higher their risk of developing alcohol-related cancer. Even those who drink no more than one drink per day and those who abuse alcohol (those who consume 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men in one sitting) have a moderately increased risk of some types of cancer. Based on 2009 data, approximately 3.5% of cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths) were associated with alcohol».
The newsletter also claims «clear patterns» between alcohol consumption and types of cancer, including liver, breast, colorectal, and brain cancer
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