U.S. Surgeon General Calls for Cancer Warnings for Alcohol Products

If the U.S. Surgeon General gets his way, the next time you pick up your favorite adult beverage, there may be a new label on the bottle.

That's because Dr. Vivek Murthy says that it's time to make customers aware of the connection between drinking alcohol and a person's elevated risk for cancer.

The announcement was published on Jan. 3, 2025, surprising some and drawing praise from others, since many claim that the risks surrounding alcohol consumption just aren't widely enough known.

You can learn more about his decision, including whether or not he's likely to get his way, below.

Murthy released the news via an official statement shared to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. In it, he expressed several steps he'd like to see taken to help minimize the risk of alcohol-related cancer cases, including an update to the existing label on all alcohol products.

In case you've never noticed, products containing alcohol in the U.S. come along with a warning label that advises pregnant people to avoid drinking alcohol due to the risk to their unborn fetus. There is also a note about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Murthy's proposed change would see a line added about the connection between alcohol and cancers, like those that impact the mouth, breasts, esophagus, and more.

According to medical experts, around 20,000 people succumb to alcohol-related cancers per year. The Associated Press notes that the figure doesn't include those diagnosed with alcohol-related cancers in the past 10 years, which it says includes nearly a million people over the past decade.

Not only does alcohol consumption increase your risk for alcohol-related cancer, but the more you drink, the higher your risk grows.

"For individuals, be aware that cancer risk increases as you drink more alcohol,” Murthy posted on X, the platform formally known as Twitter. “As you consider whether or how much to drink, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to cancer risk.”

Of course, whether Murthy gets his way or not is another story. According to the Associated Press, Congress would have to approve the proposed changes to see them go into effect.

TIn fact, the last update to the warning labels on alcohol came almost 40 years ago when the legislative body added the very first warning to alcohol products. The Associated Press notes Congress may be reluctant to make any additional changes now, thanks to the nearly $30 million a year that the industry funnels into congressional lobbying efforts.

Plus, Congress has already passed on making other alcohol-related changes, including one that suggested limiting the current guidance surrounding the number of alcoholic drinks it's safe for an adult to consume in a sitting.

For now, it seems like Murthy's suggestion is at least getting people talking about the perils of alcohol and cancer, hopefully helping them to make more informed decisions when it comes to drinking.