U.S. Surgeon General sounds alarm about links between alcohol and cancer
The U.S. Surgeon General sounds the alarm on the links between alcohol and many types of cancer, local health experts are hoping the warning is a wake-up call.
More Stories
This month is Dry January, a time where people often give up alcohol for the month.
Now as the U.S. Surgeon General sounds the alarm on the links between alcohol and many types of cancer, local health experts are hoping the warning is a wake-up call.
"They can develop throat cancer, they can develop stomach cancer. It really impairs every part of your body," says Eldene Towey, section chief of addiction psychiatry at MidHudson Regional Hospital.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for cigarette-style warning labels on alcoholic beverages. A new advisory links alcohol to 100,000 cancer cases each year.
“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. – yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Murthy said in a statement. “This advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”
The surgeon general advisory says that 20% of alcohol-related cancer cases are deadly. It says alcohol raises the risk of seven types of cancer, including in the throat, breast and liver. For breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of total breast cancer cases are attributable to alcohol consumption.
Murthy says for certain cancers, like breast, mouth, and throat cancers, evidence shows that the risk of developing cancer may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per day. An individual's risk of developing cancer due to alcohol consumption is determined by a complex interaction of biological, environmental, social, and economic factors.
