The Summary
- A report from the U.S. surgeon general suggested that labels on alcoholic drinks should warn about cancer risk.
- Doctors expressed their agreement.
- For people wondering about the long-term damage of drinking and whether there is any safe limit, here is what experts think you should know.
Physicians praised a new report released by the U.S. surgeon general on Friday, which identifies seven cancer forms linked to alcohol use and recommends that alcoholic beverages be labeled with cancer warnings.
Numerous medical professionals have long urged the federal government to increase public awareness of the well-established link between alcohol use and cancer.
Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, stated in a statement that the American Medical Association has long maintained that alcohol use at any level—not just excessive or compulsive drinking—is a modifiable risk factor for cancer. However, too many people are still ignorant of the dangers of alcohol, even after decades of strong evidence of this link.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy presents suggestions to lower the incidence of alcohol-related malignancies in the new study, which also summarizes the scientific data that links alcohol to cancer. Murthy proposes reevaluating the suggested limits for alcohol intake in the United States and suggesting warning labels on alcoholic beverages.
Although six out of ten American adults say they drink, a number of physicians told NBC News that most of their patients are unaware that alcohol use can cause malignancies of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver, breast, and colon.
According to Dr. Rotonya Carr, chief of gastroenterology at the University of Washington, public health message on alcohol in the US has not been done well.
Some people may have concerns regarding acceptable limits, the long-term harm of alcohol consumption, and how to reverse the detrimental impacts on one’s health after reading this new paper. Here are some things that national medical experts believe the public should be aware of.
Is any level of drinking safe?
There is no safe level of alcohol consumption, according to the World Health Organization. Alcohol can harm proteins and DNA as it decomposes in the body, which could lead to the development of cancer. Additionally, it can change hormone levels and facilitate the body’s absorption of other carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, raising the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, or breast.
According to Paul Gilbert, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, abstaining from alcohol is the safest course of action for a variety of health outcomes, not just cancer. Naturally, though, not many individuals choose that path because alcohol plays such a significant and fundamental role in our social and cultural traditions.
If you drink more, the health hazards are higher; if you drink less, the dangers are lower. According to a 2020 study, women who drank less than one drink per week had a 17% lifetime chance of having alcohol-related cancer, while those who had two drinks a day had a 22% risk. The hazards for men were 13% and 10%, respectively.
How does drinking compare to other factors that increase cancer risk?
According to the surgeon general’s report, alcohol is the third most common preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after obesity and tobacco. According to estimates, alcohol use causes roughly 20,000 cancer deaths and 100,000 cancer diagnoses per year.
Alcohol is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, which means there is enough proof that it can cause cancer in people. Radiation, asbestos, and tobacco are further carcinogens in that category.
People should be as concerned about the health consequences of drinking as they are about smoking, according to Carr.
If someone stops drinking, can they reverse the damage?
There is less evidence on how long it takes to notice decreases in cancer risk after quitting drinking than there is on smoking, according to specialists. (According to studies, those who stopped smoking ten years ago are half as likely to die from lung cancer as those who continue to smoke.)
According to Carr, there is less hope regarding the risk of cancer, even if some studies have shown that a single month of sobriety, such as January, can result in weight loss and improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels. According to her, a person’s risk of liver cancer may not equal that of someone who has refrained from alcohol for at least 20 years after quitting.
According to her, alcohol does cause cellular harm. Sometimes such harm can be reversed, but it will take a very long time.
Numerous factors, including a person’s family history, may affect how much they stand to gain from cutting back on alcohol, according to Dr. Frances Lee, a hepatologist at Mount Sinai in New York.
According to her, there is probably a lot of DNA damage in someone who has been binge drinking. They might not be able to reverse that risk if there is a history of specific tumors.
What about the U.S. dietary guidelines on alcohol?
According to the current standards, which are based on an overall assessment of the health risks connected with alcohol, women should not consume more than one drink per day, and men should not consume more than two drinks per day. A study conducted last year found that if consumers reduced their alcohol consumption to within specified limits, around 83% of annual alcohol-related cancer deaths may be avoided.
The guidelines do, however, also highlight new data suggesting that even moderate alcohol consumption may raise the risk of cancer, heart disease, or even death.
Murthy’s proposal that the alcohol restrictions be reevaluated may be taken into consideration at the guidelines’ update this year. The update will also probably be informed by a report that will soon be released by a Department of Health and Human Services panel.
Canada released new guidelines last year indicating that alcohol consumption is never healthy.
What about research suggesting alcohol has health benefits?
Moderate drinking may offer some health benefits, according to some research conducted over the years. This includes studies that indicate red wine’s antioxidants may help heart health and a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report from December that found moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a decreased risk of death than abstinence.
Many medical professionals and scientists, however, are still not convinced.
In previous years, there was a lot of discussion regarding the possible advantages of red wine. According to Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, a lot of it has proven challenging to confirm in additional research.
According to experts, the risks of drinking would outweigh any potential health benefits.
I doubt that a doctor will ever tell a patient, “You don’t drink at all.” Lee advised drinking two glasses at night.
Are certain types of alcohol any better than others?
Since the alcohol molecules themselves are what increase a person’s chance of developing cancer, doctors said it’s more crucial to focus on the amount or concentration of alcohol consumed rather than whether it’s wine, beer, or liquor.
Additionally, a number of specialists warned that it’s not always simple to determine how much alcohol is in a drink.
Particularly popular among youth, spiked teas and seltzers may be misleading in their alcohol level, according to Dr. Kenneth Nahum, an oncologist at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
He claimed that they were consuming it as though it were a soft drink. They’re drinking so much that they’re not even aware of it.
Will the surgeon general s warning make a difference?
Although it’s unlikely that people will instantly alter their drinking patterns in response to Friday’s research, Gilbert pointed out that it might gradually cause people to reevaluate their risk assessment.
According to him, this recommendation is a positive start toward simply spreading the news so that everyone is better educated and can make the best decision for themselves.
According to a 2023 analysis, adults under 35 are already less likely to drink alcohol than they were decades ago. However, among people 55 and older, drinking has grown. Experts hypothesized that young adults might prefer alternative substances or were socializing less in person than previous generations.
According to Elizabeth Kovacs, a professor of surgery at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, some people are drinking less, which may be due to the increased availability of edibles and vaping.
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