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In early January 2025, outgoing U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy that cancer-related warning labels be placed on alcohol products.
In the report, Murthy noted that nearly 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer-related deaths per year are attributed to alcohol consumption. It is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the country, behind tobacco and obesity.
“Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a . “This advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”
Katie Kerrigan, DO, oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the (the U), and assistant professor of internal medicine at the U, says the link between alcohol use and increased cancer risk has been well-established for decades. She says there is no new research to prompt Murthy’s announcement.
“But I do think the surgeon general wanted to highlight alcohol use as a cancer risk because we are seeing relatively alarming trends for rates of gastrointestinal cancers in young people,” says Kerrigan. “And some of those cases are being driven by modifiable risk factors like alcohol.”
“We are seeing relatively alarming trends for rates of gastrointestinal cancers in young people. And some of those cases are being driven by modifiable risk factors like alcohol.”
Katie Kerrigan, DO
According to the , colon cancer by 2.4% per year between 2012 and 2021 for Americans under 50. The exact reasons why remain a mystery to researchers, though a found a possible casual association between alcohol consumption and early onset colorectal cancer. .
But, Kerrigan says, colorectal cancer isn’t the only cancer associated with alcohol use. Alcohol is also linked to an increased risk in head and neck, esophagus, breast, stomach, and liver cancer.
Alcohol damages the DNA in cells, either by breaking down into a toxic chemical compound called acetaldehyde or by causing . The classifies acetaldehyde as a . Oxidative stress is an imbalance in blood cells that causes inflammation, and chronic inflammation can lead to cancer.
Additionally, alcohol can increase the absorption of other carcinogens in substances like tobacco. This creates a toxic state in the mouth and throat, leading to head and neck or esophagus cancer.
“The majority of Americans are unaware of this risk.”
Vivek Murthy, Outgoing U.S. Surgeon General
“It is also believed that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of breast cancer in women because it can raise levels of the hormone estrogen, which can fuel development of the disease,” says Kerrigan. “As a result, reducing alcohol consumption is one of the few ways that women can modify their risk for getting breast cancer.”
Murthy’s recommendation to add cancer-related warning labels to alcohol can only go so far, as the power to add labels ultimately lies with Congress. But it has received public attention.
“The surgeon general’s recent recommendation to put warnings about cancer risk on alcohol products is a critical first step towards increasing the general population’s awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer,” says , director of the Center for HOPE at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the U. “I think there’s going to be a lot more public health campaigns in the future to try to get this message across.”
“Warnings about cancer risk on alcohol products is a critical first step towards increasing the general population’s awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer.”
David Wetter, PhD
The surgeon general’s report revealed that only 45% of Americans recognize that alcohol can cause cancer. Americans were far more knowledgeable about the cancer risk of tobacco use, at 89%.
Wetter points to tobacco as an example of how the public can become more informed on public health issues. In 1964, the surgeon general’s office definitively linking smoking with lung cancer.
“The prevalence of smoking in the United States back then was over 40%, and the report started a steady decline,” says Wetter. “These sorts of movements often start with knowledge. That gets people thinking about the choices they make. Then officials start to pursue policy interventions.”
Only 45% of Americans recognize that alcohol can cause cancer
Americans were far more knowledgeable about the cancer risk of tobacco use, at 89%
is already on the decline, and Wetter says it’s not necessary to entirely abstain from alcohol.
“People do need to know that alcohol use increases your risk of cancer, but it’s proportional to the amount of alcohol you drink,” says Wetter. “Try to think about your alcohol use and be careful with it. That can really reduce the risk.”
Kerrigan agrees.
“I don’t think the data supports excess cancer risk for those with moderate drinking habits, one drink a day for women or two for men. Individuals can safely consume in moderation based on best available data,” says Kerrigan. “But in general, fewer drinks are better than more.”