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On Jan. 3, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a sobering report about the cancer risks linked to something that most Americans enjoy frequently: an alcoholic beverage.
In the advisory, Dr. Vivek Murthy outlined the substantial evidence behind the increased risk of developing seven types of cancers among people who consumed as little as one daily drink, or even fewer.
“What we know with a high degree of confidence is that there is a causal link between alcohol and cancer risk,” says Murthy. “The data has been building for some time and getting stronger and stronger.”
The advisory cites alcohol as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S. after tobacco and obesity and notes that there are about 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths in the country annually. That’s more than the yearly number of alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities.
What’s especially concerning, Murthy says, is that 17% of these deaths occur in people who follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines: consuming no more than two drinks a day for men, and one drink a day for women. One of the recommendations Murthy makes in the advisory is to reassess that advice when the guidelines are revised later this year. “In my mind, this data is concerning and warrants a reduction in the guideline limit [of alcohol consumption],” he says. “This is exactly the kind of data that should be considered when the guidelines are formulated or updated.”
Fewer than half of Americans know that alcohol can increase the risk of certain cancers, despite growing evidence supporting the connection over the past few decades, warnings from major cancer and public-health organizations, and classifications of alcoholic beverages as human carcinogens.
“As a cancer specialist, I am really grateful that the Surgeon General took this action,” says Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice president of cancer prevention at MD Anderson Cancer Center, “and that this message is being shared with the public so they are aware.”
Here’s what to know.
