Alcohol is the third-most preventable cause of cancer in the U.S, putting it just behind tobacco and obesity.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory on January 3, 2025, warning about the link between alcohol and cancer. This report highlighted the evidence and included a call for new cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.
The association between alcohol and cancer isn’t new news – scientists have been trying to determine the link for decades – yet most people aren’t aware of the risks and may only associate drinking with liver disease like cirrhosis. In a 2019 survey from the American Institute for Cancer Research, less than half of Americans identified alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.
As the surgeon general’s report highlights, alcohol is associated with approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths every year, playing a role in breast, liver, colorectal, mouth, throat, esophagus and voice box cancer cases. Alcohol-induced cancer deaths outnumber alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities every year.
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