The recommendation isn’t legally binding, but could help bring public awareness to the health risks associated with alcohol.
The US’s top doctor is calling for alcoholic drinks to come with a warning label on the cancer risks tied to booze, amid stalled efforts on alcohol labelling in Europe.
In the US, alcohol is responsible for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths every year, making it one of the top preventable causes of cancer after tobacco and obesity, according to the new advisory from US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy.
Even so, “the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a statement.
Advisories from the US surgeon general offer policy recommendations and aim to raise public awareness about public health risks, but are not binding. For labels to come into effect, the US Congress would have to pass a new law.
Murthy said that in addition to labels on alcoholic beverages, health officials should reconsider other guidelines on alcohol and cancer risks, and doctors should do more to make patients aware of these issues.
“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer,” Murthy said, and the advisory offers “steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimise harm”.
Alcohol long known to cause cancer
Health authorities have long warned about the link.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research agency designated alcohol as a carcinogen as early as 1988, alongside tobacco, asbestos, and other cancer-causing agents.
And last year, a large study in the United Kingdom found that older adults who drink regularly are more likely to die from cancer.
The US wouldn’t be the first country in the world to mandate alcohol beverage labelling.
That title belongs to Ireland, where a requirement for health labels on alcoholic drinks will take effect in 2026. The labels will have information on calorie content as well as risks tied to cancer, liver disease, and drinking while pregnant.
Meanwhile, efforts have stalled on booze labelling across Europe.
As part of the European Commission’s Beating Cancer Plan, put forth by Ursula von der Leyen in February 2021, alcoholic drinks would get mandatory ingredient and nutrition labels by 2023.
But the proposal faced fierce opposition from industry groups and did not resurface when the new Commission was formed late last year.
Source: Euro News
