While plenty of studies and medical professionals have touted the benefits of moderate drinking (especially if it's wine) for decades now, we're starting to wonder if they were just telling us what we wanted to hear.
According to new research from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), alcohol is linked to six types of cancers, including breast, liver, oesophageal, stomach, bladder, head, and neck cancers. In fact, one study in the AACR report says that alcohol contributes to 5.4% of overall cancer diagnoses, while the National Cancer Institute argues that there's a "strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer."
The World Health Organization has also identified alcohol as a carcinogen and says there is risk even drinking at low levels. And research maintains that 51% of people don't even realise there's even a connection between cancer and alcohol.
It begs the question: should alcoholic drinks come with a cancer warning label?
The AACR certainly thinks so. In fact, the organisation suggests that this caution, along with clinical strategies, could ultimate "reduced the burden of alcohol-related cancers," Verywell Health reports.
"Raising awareness of risk factors for cancer and how to modify that risk is critical," adds colorectal cancer surgeon Dr Matthew Kalady.
Alcohol labels are currently regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which is a division of the US Department of Treasury. As of now, they include several warnings, including against driving or operating machinery under the influence and drinking while pregnant. The label also says that alcohol "may cause health problems."
The Republic of Ireland is planning to add warning labels to bottles in 2026, and other countries are reportedly considering the same.
According to the publication Stat, the US Tax and Trade Bureau has discussed warning labels linking alcohol consumption and cancer, a final decision has not yet been made. However, there's a reason this has been tricky to update. Timothy Rebbeck, an epidemiologist specialising in cancer prevention, told Stat that it's difficult to measure "whether that glass of wine with dinner over the weekend is going to increase your risk of cancer."
It's not so black and white, like with tobacco, because there are other variables: DNA damage, hormone changes and inflammation, he says.
"We used to believe that drinking alcohol in moderation. Red wine, in particular, had cardiovascular benefits. More recent studies, however, have found that the heart health benefit attributed to wine might actually be a result of some people having healthier lifestyles and higher incomes," Rebbeck added.
There's also the question of whether anyone will care enough to drink less because of a warning label. Cigarette warning labels have worked, to an extent, and a study in Canada argued that alcohol warning labels would reduce sales.
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