Alcoholic beverages are a leading cause of cancer and is expected to warn this risk on their labels, the American surgeon said on Friday.
Alcohol is a factor in nearly 100,000 cancers newly diagnosed each year and around 20,000 deaths by illness, said US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy An opinion intended to focus public attention on health risk. In comparison, traffic accidents linked to alcohol consumption About 13,500 Americans Each year.
“Alcohol consumption is the third cause of preventable cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity,” said the 22-page opinion. “While the scientific evidence of this link has increased in the past four decades, less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer.”
The labels on bottles and cans of alcoholic beverages already warn against alcohol during pregnancy. They also warn to drink before driving or using other machines. In California, proposal 65 approved by voters also requires companies that serve or sell alcoholic drinks to provide a warning regarding health risks, including cancer.
Any decision to update or expand the label would require the approval of the congress, an uncertain perspective. Murthy was appointed by President Biden, who left a little over two weeks. President -elected Donald Trump chose Janette Nesheiwat, a framework for a chain of emergency care clinics based in New York, as a candidate for the general surgeon.
The leaders of the beer, wine and spirits industry said on Friday that scientific data connecting alcohol to cancer were mixed.
Amanda Berger, main vice-president of the distilled council of spirits, noted that recent report Through the national academies of science, engineering and medicine revealed that alcohol was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer but has not found such associations with other types of cancer.
This report also concluded that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower risks of mortality all causes and cardiovascular diseases, compared to alcohol without consumption.
“The current health warning on alcoholic products has long informed consumers of the potential risk of alcohol consumption,” said Berger. “Many lifestyle choices include potential risks, and it is the role of the federal government to determine any proposed modification of warning declarations based on the entire body of scientific research.”
The general surgeon's opinion said that colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, gorge and larynx cancer are all linked to alcohol consumption, just like breast cancer in women. The risk of developing breast, mouth or throat cancers can increase with less than one drink per day, he said.
(Office of the American General Surgeon)
However, more than half of Americans do not know that their alcohol consumption behavior affects their risk of cancer. A investigation By the American Institute for Cancer Research revealed that 89% of Americans recognized that smoking causes cancer and 53% knew that obesity was a risk factor, but only 45% realized that alcohol could also cause cancer.
In the United States, almost half of alcohol-related cancers are breast cancers in women a study Published by the American Cancer Society. About 1 out of 6 out of 6 breast cancers is due to alcohol, and the disease represents around 60% of all death -related cancer in women.
As a result, alcohol consumption is a greater risk of cancer for women than men. In 2019, approximately 54,330 women received a diagnosis of cancer resulting from alcohol consumption, just like around 42,400 men. About 60% of cancer deaths linked to alcohol in women are due to breast cancer, while liver cancer and colorectal cancer are responsible for around 54% of cancer deaths linked to alcohol in men.
For women who consume less than one drink per week, the absolute risk of developing alcohol -related cancer is 16.5%. According to the opinion.
For men, drinking once a week is linked to an absolute risk of 10% of cancer linked to alcohol. This risk increases to 11.4% by having a drink per day and to 13.1% by taking two glasses per day, says the opinion.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization claims that alcohol is a Cancerigen group 1Putting it in the company of tobacco, asbestos and ultraviolet radiation. The United States National Toxicology Program said in 2000 that alcohol caused cancer in humans and organizations, including centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and American Assn. For cancer, research should that at least seven types of cancer are linked to alcohol consumption.
There is also evidence suggesting that alcohol consumption contributes to skin, prostate, pancreatic and stomach cancer, although more research is necessary, says the opinion of the general surgeon.
Scientists first linked alcohol consumption to certain cancers Almost 50 years agoAnd the evidence showing that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for at least seven types of cancer has increased since, says the opinion.
For example, An observational study Out of 28 million people in 195 countries and territories found that the more alcohol, the higher their risk of cancer. A study Implying more than a million women found that those who had up to 1 drink per day were 10% more likely to obtain breast cancer compared to those who abstained. Likewise, a study With 36,000 people found that those who consumed one glass a day were 40% more likely to develop mouth cancer than people who did not drink.
Laboratory experiences have shown how alcohol leads to cancer.
When alcohol is metabolized in the body, it breaks down into a chemical called acetaldehyde which can be attached to DNA. The resulting damage can trigger uncontrolled cell growth that leads to cancer.
Alcohol consumption also creates unstable molecules called reactive oxygen species This can interfere with DNA, proteins and essential fats. They too Increase inflammationWhich makes the body more welcoming for cancer.
There is also evidence that alcohol feeds breast cancer by affecting estrogen levels and other hormones, and other types of carcinogens – such as those found in tobacco smoke – are more easily absorbed in the body when dissolved in alcohol.
Companies that sell alcoholic beverages say they have long urged consumers to drink drinks safely.
“The American beer industry is a champion of responsible consumption for decades,” said a spokesman for the Beer Institute on Friday. “We encourage adults of legal drinking age to make choices that best correspond to their personal situation, and if they choose to drink, to consume alcoholic drinks in moderation.”
Dre Laura Catena, winemaker and doctor, said that she “would welcome any kind of alert or communication of the general surgeon on the risk of cancer of heavy alcohol consumption”, but that it should not go beyond established science.
American insurance. For cancer research, alcohol consumption is responsible for 5.4% of all cancer cases in the United States, making it a higher risk factor than exposure to UV radiation, poor diet and infections from pathogens such as human hepatitis and papillomavirus. (By comparison, 19.3% of American cancers are attributable to smoking, according to the association.)
Studies suggest The fact that people who have reduced alcohol or eliminate it can reduce their risk of these cancers by 8% and reduce their overall cancer risk by 4%.
THE Food lines for Americans American departments of agriculture and health and social services say that there is no health reason for non-lives to start consuming alcohol. Those who drink can minimize their risk by limiting their contribution to a more than one glass per day for women and no more than two glasses per day for men.
A glass of 5 ounces wine, a bottle of 12 ounce beer or a 1.5 ounce of distilled spirits counts as a single drink.
The general surgeon's opinion indicates that around 83% of cancer deaths linked to alcohol occur in people who exceed these limits. But that means that 17% of deaths were in people who are involved in moderate alcohol consumption.
