Call for 'Cancer Risk' Label on Alcoholic Beverages in the U.S.

Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General and a senior health official at the White House, announced on Friday, January 4, that alcohol is a leading cause of cancer and stated that this should be clearly labeled on alcoholic beverages. Although extensive research has been conducted in recent years regarding the harmful effects of alcohol on human health, and multiple pieces of evidence have been gathered in this regard, the Surgeon General's recommendation for labeling requires approval from the U.S. Congress. Murthy argued in his recommendation that Americans need to have better information about the connection between alcohol and cancer, emphasizing that alcohol consumption is responsible for approximately one million preventable cancer cases in the United States over the past decade. According to the Surgeon General's recommendation, about 20,000 people die each year from cancers related to alcohol consumption. Beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages currently have warning labels regarding risks for pregnant women and driving under the influence, but Murthy's proposed label goes further to inform alcohol consumers about the risk of cancer as well. Research has shown that alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including liver, breast, and throat cancers. The U.S. Surgeon General's recommendation also emphasizes that as alcohol consumption increases, the risk of these diseases also rises. Experts believe that despite this recommendation and existing evidence regarding the health risks of alcohol consumption, it is unlikely that Congress will quickly approve this labeling on alcoholic products. It has been nearly four decades since Congress first mandated a warning label on alcoholic products for pregnant women and driving under the influence, and no updates have been made since then. Evidence suggests that the approval of warning labels on cigarette packages by Congress helped Americans significantly reduce this habit. According to the Associated Press, efforts to add a cancer warning label to alcohol will face significant opposition from the alcohol industry, which spends nearly $30 million annually lobbying Congress. Warning about the increase in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related deaths in America. One dead and five poisoned in Zanjan after consuming counterfeit alcohol. Death of 41 people in four provinces of Iran due to counterfeit alcohol consumption. Consumption of non-standard alcoholic beverages in Mazandaran province claimed victims; 21 people in nine days. Death of 26 people due to the consumption of non-standard alcoholic beverages; traces of 'governmental murder'? Death of a specialist doctor in Shiraz due to consuming non-standard alcohol; the prohibition of 'alcoholic beverages' in Iran continues to claim victims.