(NewsNation) — United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed labeling alcohol as a leading cause of cancer.
In a new Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk released Friday, Murthy outlined how alcohol contributed to at least seven types of cancer, including breast and mouth cancer.
He noted that alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., after tobacco and obesity, but many Americans remain unaware of the connection.
Alcohol use is linked to about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the U.S., with the risk rising as alcohol consumption increases, America’s top doctor warned.
Current alcohol labels, created in 1988, warn about dangers like drinking while pregnant or operating machinery. Murthy emphasized the need for updates to reflect modern research.
Dr. Marion Nestle points to alcohol study discrepancies
It’s a move that Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, called “absolutely unambiguous.”
“[Murthy says] alcohol causes cancer, seven different types. No mays, no mights, no ‘the evidence suggests.’ Alcohol causes cancer — period, full stop,” the molecular biologist and author explained.
That surety, Nestle said, comes just a week after the National Academies of Sciences came out with a report that said there’s only “low-quality evidence” that alcohol is linked to cancer.
“So, we’re in a situation now where two major authorities have come out with very different advice, and a third report is still expected very soon,” Nestle said.
Nestle has served on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. She said the advice discrepancies are likely the result of “which studies they’re looking at, which ones are excluded, and how the various committees are interpreting the evidence.”
“Like all nutrition research, this is complicated,” she added.
Alcohol’s cancer link obvious: Dr. Drew Pinsky
But Dr. Drew Pinsky, chief medical board member of The Wellness Company, told “On Balance with Leland Vittert” that the link between alcohol and cancer is as obvious as saying “the sky is blue.”
“I have been screaming about this for 30 years. Alcohol is one of the only commonly used drugs in this world that happens to be a carcinogen to almost every tissue in our body,” Pinsky said. “It’s the only drug from which the withdrawal is not uncommonly fatal.”
He believes Murthy’s declaration is his way of leaving his mark before he leaves the role, even if it’s something Pinsky and most doctors are already well aware of.
“We can decide whether we want to use a substance or not, but the fact that this is a headline, and the fact that that was a headline, is all egregious to me,” Pinsky added.
Labels lead to ‘informed’ alcohol choices: Dr. Nitesh Paryani
Oncologist Dr. Nitesh Paryani on “CUOMO” said thinks it’s “good that we’re starting to have a conversation about this preventable cause,” noting that previous alcohol guidance allows two drinks each day for men and one for women.
“We used to think that one to two drinks a day was a reasonable amount, but the more we’ve learned is, unfortunately, that may not be the case,” Paryani said.
“We’ve known for some time now that, you know, the risk of alcohol and cancer is really quite high, and so I think it’s good that it’s coming to the public discourse,” Paryani said. “And we’re talking about warning labels so that people can make informed choices.”
Nestle said it will take years, if not decades, for any changes to hit the shelves.
“The FDA moves at what used to be glacial speed before global warming,” Nestle said. “These are very hard to do, and they require a lot of public input. And the minute you get into public input, you get the alcohol industry involved.”
The restaurant, hospitality and entertainment industry, among many others, profit off selling alcohol, Nestle said. And that’s when “enormous” political pressures come into play, complicating the process altogether.
Congress will ultimately decide whether to revise the labels. The next round of Dietary Guidelines for Americans is set to be released in 2026.
NewsNation’s Taylor Delandro contributed to this report.