The United States’ public health officer issued a warning on Friday about the link between alcohol and cancer. As if to respond to the report published in December by the National Academies of Sciences, concluding on the beneficial effect of moderate alcohol consumption on mortality from all causes.
A
two weeks before the end of his mandate, a new American presidency obliges, Doctor Vivek Murthy, the American chief medical officer, threw a wrench into the pond by publishing a warning warning the American public against the link between the consumption of alcohol – ” whatever it is » – and the risk of developing cancer. It’s hard not to see a link, too, with the publication in December of the NASEM report whose conclusions on the impact of alcohol on different cancers are much more nuanced. For his part, the American chief medical officer affirms that “ for four decades, scientific evidence of this link has been accumulating while less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer “. Having reviewed numerous studies published between 2010 and 2024, the authors of the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) considered for their part that if there is a link between alcohol and breast cancer and colorectal cancer, the effects are much more difficult to establish for other types of cancer.
Like tobacco
With all due respect to the dozen researchers involved in the NASEM report, and the dozen additional researchers who participated in its review – including some known for their anti-alcohol stance – Dr. Vivek Murthy believes that the NASEM’s warning « Surgeon General » on bottles of alcoholic beverages marketed in the United States must be updated to take into account the risks of cancer. Like cigarettes. The current mandatory warning discusses the risk of malformation of the unborn child for pregnant women, as well as the impact of alcohol consumption on their ability to drive a car or operate machinery, as well as possible health problems. It has remained unchanged since 1988. Dr. Murthy justifies this new recommendation by stating that “ the direct link between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing cancer is well established in the case of at least seven types of cancer, including those of the breast, colon-rectum, esophagus, liver, the mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx) and larynx… ».
The final bouquet?
Appointed by the American President, Dr. Vivek Murthy served as Public Health Administrator under Presidents Barack Obama and then Joe Biden, hence his upcoming departure. In addition, only the American Congress can vote to modify the warnings on alcohol bottles and it is difficult to predict whether the Donald Trump administration would be in favor of it or not. More generally, the announcements made by Dr. Murthy are part of the review of dietary recommendations for Americans, planned for this year, and also respond to the request made by the World Health Organization to establish, among other things , more explicit warning messages on alcoholic beverages like the provisions applicable in Ireland from 2026. Note that out of the 53 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) at the European level, 13 of them have already implemented health warnings on alcoholic beverages, including 3 member countries of the European Union.
