Surgeon General Report Assails Alcohol as Cause of Cancer

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services continued its propaganda war on alcohol Friday (1/3) releasing a "Surgeon General Advisory" calling for Congress to update the government health warning label as "an important next step for alcohol-related cancer prevention." The proposal advocates replacing the current text-only warning label with "prominent, pictorial and rotating messages."

It cites South Korea as one of 47 countries requiring a cancer-specific warning. But buried in the advisory is the information that "many individuals of East Asian descent have a genetic variant that . . . produces much higher risks for certain alcohol-related cancers."

Other proposals in the advisory include:

• Reassessing recommended limits for alcohol consumption to account for the latest evidence on alcohol consumption and cancer risks.
• Strengthening and expanding education efforts to increase general awareness that alcohol consumption causes cancer.
• Informing patients in clinical settings about the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk.
• Promoting the use of alcohol screening and provide brief intervention and referral to treatment as needed.
• Highlighting alcohol consumption as a leading modifiable cancer risk factor and incorporate proven alc0hol-reduction strategies into population-level cancer prevention initiatives and plans.
• For individuals, being aware of the relationship between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk when considering whether or how much to drink. "Cancer risk increases as you drink more alcohol."

In a press release accompanying the advisory, U,S, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said:

"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."

The release states "the direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well-established . . . regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine and spirits)."

The advisory attributes 16.4% of the 272,454 new breast cancer cases reported in 2021 to alcohol consumption. That's 134 new breast cancer cases in 2021 for every 100,000 women who have breast cancer.

But the question that matters to most women, we think, is "what are my odds of getting breast cancer if I have one or two drinks." The advisory doesn't address that question, but the answer can be calculated.

According to the Census Bureau, in 2020 there were 95,657,470 women in the U.S. 18 years old and older. Assuming that was roughly the same in 2021, the odds a woman over 18 will develop breast cancer is infinitesimal. (44,715 new breast cancer cases divided by the U.S. female population over 18 of 95,657,470 women results in 4.674491181922332e-4, according to my calculator.)

Even if the calculation is restricted to women who drink, estimated at about 70% of the population, the risk of developing breast cancer the answer remains about the same.

But never mind the facts. This advisory will cause the alcohol industry a lot of trouble. And it bodes ill for the final Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, which is produced by the Department of Health & Human Services (of which the Surgeon General is a part) and the Agriculture Department.

This is a developing story and may be updated.