Surgeon General Calls For Cancer Risk Warning on Alcoholic Beverages

The U.S. surgeon general has issued an advisory calling for a warning about the risk of cancer to be included on alcoholic beverages. From a report: 'Given the conclusive evidence on the 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 to the Surgeon General's warning label for alcohol-containing beverages to include a cancer risk warning,' Dr. Vivek Murthy said in the advisory Friday.

The advisory notes that alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the country, after tobacco and obesity. '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 news release. The advisory also says more than 740,000 cancer cases globally could be attributed to alcohol use in 2020.

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