USAPA Urges Congress to Require Alcohol Warning Labels to Include Cancer Risk
U.S. ALCOHOL POLICY ALLIANCE APPLAUDS
SURGEON GENERAL’S CALL FOR ALCOHOL WARNING LABELS
Organization urges Congress to act
January 7, 2025 | West Lake Hills, Texas — As the national voice on alcohol policy, the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance (USAPA) applauds U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s call for Congress to authorize an update to alcohol-containing beverage warning labels to include a cancer risk warning. With fewer than half of all American adults aware that alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cancer, the release of the Surgeon General’s advisory last week has sparked a long overdue and critical conversation about alcohol as the third leading preventable cause of cancer — this dialogue must continue and grow stronger.
“In the nearly 35 years since the myth that alcohol reduces the risk of heart disease went mainstream on 60 Minutes and triggered a nearly 50 percent increase in wine sales for the remainder of the decade and beyond, we have learned over and over again that alcohol does more harm than good,” says USAPA Board Chair Tiffany Hall. “With scientific proof that alcohol consumption can lead to cancer, it’s imperative that we turn up the volume on the truth. We are calling on Congress to update alcohol warning labels so people have all the information they need to make informed choices about consuming alcohol.”
Alcohol harms individuals, families, and communities. Warning labels inform people of risks so they can make better decisions about their health. Key data from the Surgeon General’s advisory include:
- Consuming alcohol increases the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer, including breast cancer in women.
- Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the U.S.
- In 2020 alone, more than 740,000 cancer cases worldwide were attributable to alcohol consumption.
- Less than half of Americans are aware that alcohol consumption increases cancer risk.
Despite the World Health Organization’s announcement in 1988 that alcohol is a carcinogen, followed by its 2023 conclusion that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, the warning label on alcoholic beverages in the U.S. has not been updated in decades. Nearly a quarter of other countries have begun including cancer on their warning labels; specific references to cancer are nonexistent in the U.S. In both Georgia and Alaska, USAPA has supported its state alliances in advocating for passage of legislation requiring cancer warnings at alcohol point of sale. Beginning next year, Ireland will require red capital letters stating “THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN ALCOHOL AND FATAL CANCERS” and “DRINKING ALCOHOL CAUSES LIVER DISEASE” on all containers of beer, wine and liquor.
USAPA stands with the Surgeon General and also calls on Congress to update the warning labels on beverages containing alcohol.
“Our greatest hope is to see the revised warning labels become reality,” says Hall. “Meanwhile, the aftershock of the Surgeon General’s call to action — everything from social media comments such as “Finally” and “It’s about time” to the immediate ripple effect on big alcohol stock prices — has taken awareness and discussion of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer to a whole new level. We can’t afford to waste that.”
In Washington, the $2.5 billion alcohol industry spends more than $45 million on lobbying and has more than 300 lobbyists working tirelessly to make sure these labels go unchanged. Late last year, USAPA hired its first alcohol policy lobbyist. In addition to supporting the inclusion of cancer risk on alcohol warning labels, USAPA is pushing for changes regarding alcohol consumption when the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are updated this year. When the DGAs were revised five years ago, recommendations around alcohol were ignored. In light of the Surgeon General’s advisory on alcohol and cancer risk, the evidence in support of updates to the guidelines is clear and indisputable. USAPA will continue to advocate at both the state and federal levels for stronger public health practice based on this research.
About the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance
Founded in 2014, the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance (USAPA or The Alliance) is the national voice on alcohol policy — working to change the narrative about alcohol, define an actionable agenda for policy-making on all levels, and build a movement driven by the truth that alcohol harms. Envisioning a nation free from alcohol-related disease, death, and injury, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization is leading the fight to change America’s relationship with alcohol by translating alcohol policy research into public health practice. To learn more about USAPA, including ways to support the organization, visit www.AlcoholPolicy.org and follow on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram.
