• by Tanya Gazdik , January 3, 2025

Just in time for “dry January,” the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is sending a sending a stern warning about the links between cancer and drinking alcohol.

Alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label just as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday.

"Dr. Vivek Murthy’s report cites studies linking alcoholic beverages to at least seven malignancies, including breast cancer," according to The New York Times.

“Labels currently affixed to bottles and cans of alcoholic beverages warn about drinking while pregnant or before driving and operating other machinery, and about general ‘health risks,’” the Times continues. “Only Congress can mandate new warning labels of the sort Dr. Murthy recommended, and it’s not clear that the incoming administration would support the change. Still, President-elect Donald J. Trump does not drink, and his choice to head the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., swore off alcohol and drugs decades ago, and says he regularly attends AA meetings.”

But neither rushed on Friday to embrace the recommendation by the outgoing Biden administration.

“A combination of factors, including Republicans’ traditional resistance to regulation, a powerful industry lobby and the presence of top liquor companies in conservative states, make it unlikely the incoming administration would adopt the health suggestions in the near term,” according to Reuters. “Brian Darling, a Republican strategist and former senior aide to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, does not see the new Republican-controlled Congress approving adding a cancer-risk label to alcohol.”

Surgeon general’s advisories are strongly stated warnings meant to deliver clear messages about health risks. 

“Advisories are uncommon and reserved for issues that need immediate awareness and action,” notes CNN Health. “They often become turning points in the nation’s health habits. A 1964 surgeon general’s report on smoking, for example, started to change the perception that cigarettes were benign.”

Indeed, the warning could affect the public’s perception of alcohol going forward. And the warning comes at a time when many are observing “dry January,” a social movement to encourage abstinence from alcohol for the first month of the year.

"Surveys show that certain groups are getting the moderation message,” per CNN Health. “Mocktails are gaining social acceptance as a way to cut back, and spirits manufacturers are offering more nonalcoholic alternatives to their products, too.”

Publicly traded stocks for beer, wine and spirits companies sank Friday following the U.S. Surgeon General's warning, notes Axios.

“The alcohol industry has already been dealing with slowing sales after a pandemic-era surge, hurt by inflation-wary customers and potentially longer-term headwinds,” according to Axios. “For one, a declining share of Americans are boozing: 58% of adults were drinkers in 2024, a 28-year low, according to Gallup.”