The US Surgeon General has issued a advice calling for a warning about the risk of cancer to be included in alcoholic beverages.
“Given the conclusive evidence on cancer risk from alcohol consumption and the Office of the Surgeon General’s responsibility to inform the American public of the best available scientific evidence, the Surgeon General recommends an update of the Surgeon General’s warning label for beverages containing alcohol to include a cancer risk warning,” Dr Vivek Murthy said in the advisory on Friday.
The notice notes that alcohol is the third preventable cause of cancer in the country, after tobacco and obesity.
“Alcohol is a well-established and preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths in the United States annually, more than the 13,500 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the US, but most Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a press release.
The warning also says that more than 740,000 cancer cases worldwide could be attributed to alcohol use in 2020. The American public, however, is largely unaware of the risk, despite a link between drinking ‘alcohol and cancer came to light in the 1980s and became clearer over time, says the advice.
This is breaking news. It will be updated.