US surgeon general urges cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - -Alcoholic drinks should carry a label warning consumers about their cancer risks, the U.S. Surgeon General said in an advisory on Friday, noting that their consumption increases the risk of developing breast, colon, liver and other cancers.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink, alongside current warnings on birth defects and impairments when operating machinery.

Shares of U.S.-listed alcoholic beverage makers fell between 1% and 2% in premarket trading, with Brown-Forman Corp leading the declines.

"Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer," Murthy's office said in a statement accompanying the new report.

It is responsible for 100,000 U.S. cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year, more than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash deaths, it added.

In the U.S., there are about 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths annually, according to the report.

Alcoholic beverages in the United States currently carry a health warning label that advises pregnant women to not drink them and that their consumption impairs a person's ability to drive a car or operate machinery.

This label has not changed since its inception in 1988.

"The direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well-established for at least seven types of cancer ... regardless of the type of alcohol (e.g., beer, wine, and spirits) that is consumed," the statement said, including cancers of the esophagus, mouth, throat and voice box.

The new report recommends health care providers should encourage alcohol screening and treatment referrals as needed, and efforts to increase general awareness should be expanded.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien and Susan Heavey in Washington, and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru, Editing by William Maclean, Gareth Jones and Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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