America's top doctor is calling for cancer warnings on alcohol after a report cites studies linking alcoholic beverages to more than a half-dozen malignancies, including breast cancer. On Friday, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General's Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, outlining the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. According to the CDC, alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity. And according to the report released by Muthy's office it increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer. "While scientific evidence for this connection has been growing over the past four decades, less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer," Murthy's office said. The advisory includes a series of recommendations, including updating the existing Surgeon General's health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages to now include cancer risk. In a post on X, Murthy wrote alcohol contributions to about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually.
