Alcohol Is The Reason For 7 Different Cancers, Says US Surgeon General

Holiday season that just ended is known for its food and beverages indulges. What goes up is the number of people who drink alcohol during this time, which could lead to many diseases, including breast cancer. Amid this, America's top doctor, the US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk. This outlines the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased risk of cancer.

Just as with the labels of cigarettes, Surgeon General is calling for cancer risk warnings on alcohol.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), alcohol consumption is the 3rd leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States. The first two are tobacco and obesity. The report that the US Surgeon General's office released talks about at least 7 types of cancers that could be caused due to alcohol consumption.

What are these 7 types of cancer that can happen due to alcohol?

While the advisory talked about the 7 types of cancers, it also included recommendation including updating alcohol labels to include cancer warnings.

The advisory also called for reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption. The following cancers linked to alcohol consumption which Murthy wants to be included in the label are:

• Breast
• Colon
• Throat
• Liver
• Voice box
• Esophagus
• Mouth

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Murthy said that alcohol leads to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the US alone. This number is greater than the alcohol related traffic accidents each year, which stands at the average of 13,500 cases.

"While scientific evidence for this connection has been growing over the past four decades, less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer," Murthy's office said in a statement. "This advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”

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Who are at risk?

Middle-aged individuals are drinking more heavily. It is more prominent in males over 30 and women aged 18 to 64.

The trend can be seen where the middle-aged uses alcohol as a tool to cope with the day-to-day life, whereas for youth, it is to have fun and to explore the adult life.

Is there any safe drinking limit?

High intensity is defined as consuming an excessive number of drinks in one session: eight or more for women and ten or more for men.

While binge drinking is characterized by having four or five drinks within two hours.

Health risks other than cancer

Alcohol is known to increase your snoring noises, especially if you drink just before going to bed. This can cause problems for you to achieve proper REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. It is a sleep stage when most dreams occur. During REM sleep, a person's brain activity, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure increase and their eyes move rapidly while closed. The muscles in the arms and legs also temporarily become unable to move.