Will drinking be reduced by the alcohol cancer warning?

Will drinking be reduced by the alcohol cancer warning?

According to the nation's surgeon general, alcohol is the third most common cause of cancer, after smoking and obesity.

Alcohol is the preventable cause of over 100,000 domestic cancer cases annually, according to a comprehensive new analysis by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. The warning continues by listing seven cancers, such as breast, liver, and oral cancers, for which a person's alcoholic beverage consumption raises their risk of getting affected. The Surgeon General has urged for new cancer warnings to be added on alcoholic beverages because of this. "I think it's reasonable to do that," Messier went on to say. "But I don't think it's going to change anything." Moonshine Alley employees in Providence said they are prepared to serve both alcohol-drinking and non-alcohol-drinking customers, whether it is for health reasons or just for Dry January.

The new year brings with it a new surgeon general's recommendation on alcohol and cancer risk, as well as Dry January. It used to be believed that moderate drinking was good for the heart, but newer study techniques have disproved that. "Reducing alcohol consumption is a great way to be healthier," said Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the University of Victoria's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research in British Columbia. Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, demanded on Friday that the current surgeon general's health warning label on beverages containing alcohol be updated to state the risk of cancer. He would need Congress to approve his plan.

Drinking increases the risk of numerous cancers, such as those of the breast, liver, colon, and mouth and throat. When alcohol is broken down in the body, acetaldehyde is produced. This chemical can harm your cells and prevent them from healing themselves. That makes the environment conducive to the growth of cancer. If people complied with the government's dietary recommendations, thousands of fatalities in the United States could be avoided annually, according to Naimi. According to those recommendations, ladies should consume no more than one drink each day, while men should limit their intake to two drinks or less. One drink is roughly equal to one 12-ounce beer can, five-ounce wine glass, or one shot of liquor.

In the United States, there are roughly 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths and 100,000 alcohol-related cancer cases every year, according to Murthy's recommendation. Murthy posted on social media site X on Friday, saying, "Remember that when it comes to cancer risk, less is better when you're deciding whether or how much to drink."

The general trend is to drink less, while national guidelines differ greatly. After considering fresh data, the UK, France, Denmark, Holland, and Australia recently reduced their alcohol consumption guidelines. In Ireland, alcohol will have to bear cancer warning labels as early as 2026. "The overwhelming evidence linking alcohol to over 200 health conditions, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and injuries, has caused a shift in the scientific consensus," stated Carina Ferreira-Borges, regional adviser for alcohol at the World Health Organization's regional office for Europe.

In order to reduce the U.S. suggestion for men to one drink per day, Naimi was a member of an advisory council. The 2020 release of the federal guidelines took the advise into consideration and rejected it. "The evidence best supports the straightforward message that, when it comes to your health, the less you drink, the better," Naimi stated. The ___ The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group provides support to the Associated Press Health and Science Department. All content is the exclusive responsibility of the AP.