Can alcohol use increase your risk for cancer? According to the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, it can. A report released on Friday shared some startling stats linked to alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol increases the risk for seven types of cancer: breast, colorectal, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box.
The report also finds that alcohol is responsible for 100,000 cancer cases in the US each year and 20,000 deaths. It is the third leading preventable cause of cancer after tobacco and obesity.
As a result of these findings, Murthy is calling on Congress to add cancer risk to warning labels of alcoholic beverages. The current labels warn against (1) drinking while pregnant and (2) drinking while driving or operating machinery.
In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Murthy stated the following:
“..The science has been building for years, creating greater and greater certainty about more and more types of cancer. But what is clear is that while people know, for example, about the link between tobacco and cancer and other health risks and cancer, less than half of people in America know that alcohol is, in fact, connected to cancer risk.”
To listen to or read the rest of the interview, click here.
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