Surgeon general calls for expanded warnings on alcohol

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Friday issued an advisory about the links between alcohol use and cancer and called for expanded warning labels on such products, among other recommendations.

It’s a move that could potentially slow sales in a segment that has already reported significant declines in recent years as consumers increasingly seek out non-alcoholic options. 

Dollar sales of domestic beer, for example, declined 2.8% for the 12 months ended Dec. 1, while dollar sales of non-alcohol beer rose 29.3% during the period, according to data from Chicago-based research firm Circana. Dollar sales of wine fell 1.7% during the period, while non-alcohol wine sales rose 45.7%, Circana said. Dollar sales of spirits, however, were up 3% during the period, the research firm said. 

“This is one more obstacle that beverage suppliers have that will likely negatively impact their growth,” said David Henkes, senior principal and head of strategic partnerships for Informa-owned research firm Technomic, Chicago. “The industry is already facing headwinds from GLP-1 drugs, as well as a slowdown in restaurant traffic, slower consumer spending (driven by economic and inflation-related uncertainty), more options (particularly cannabis), and a younger consumer that isn’t drinking as much as their older cohorts did.”

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Henkes added: “Just one more piece of bad news for the industry.”

In his advisory, Murthy called alcohol a “well-established, preventable cause” of at least seven types of cancer, one that is responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the United States. 

“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,” he noted. “An individual’s risk of developing cancer due to alcohol consumption is determined by a complex interaction of biological, environmental, social and economic factors.”

He called for an update to the Surgeon General’s health warning label on alcoholic beverages to include a warning about the link between alcohol and cancer risk, as well as an effort to make the warning labels more “visible, prominent and effective.” 

He also called for a reassessment of the recommended limits of alcohol consumption, strengthened and expanded educational efforts to highlight the links between alcohol consumption and cancer risks, and providing information to patients in clinical settings about these risks.

Murthy further said work should begin to highlight alcohol consumption as a “leading modifiable cancer risk factor” while promoting alcohol-reduction strategies.

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Murthy has also issued advisories on firearm violence, loneliness, social media and other topics. Such advisories act to raise awareness and make recommendations, but cannot force change on the federal level. 

It is up to Congress to mandate any changes to alcohol warning labels, something it has not done since adopting the current warning labels in 1988.

This story was originally featured on CSP Daily News, a sister publication of Supermarket News.