Washington, D.C.—Consumer Federation of America celebrated the Alaska State Senate’s passage of legislation late Wednesday night that will require all alcohol retailers in the state to post cancer warning signs at the point-of-sale. The bill marks the first time a state legislature has targeted alcohol specifically as a carcinogen.
The bill, which also loosens restrictions on the sale of alcohol by employees under age 21, now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy. Like 23 other states and the District of Columbia, Alaska law currently requires a point-of-sale warning sign on the danger of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and the bill will update those signs in addition to requiring a cancer warning statement. California has required cancer warnings for a variety of carcinogens, including alcohol, under its Proposition 65 legislation. However, the Alaska law reflects growing concern that drinkers do not sufficiently comprehend the cancer risk associated with alcohol.
According to American Cancer Society researchers, alcohol use represents the 3rd leading cause of cancer in the United States. For some cancers, even light or moderate drinking significantly increases risk. For example, researchers estimate that consuming 1 standard drink per day is associated with a 4% increase in breast cancer risk, and drinking 2-4 drinks per day with a 23% increased risk. Researchers estimate that cancers associated with alcohol consumption affect nearly 90,000 Americans each year.
Yet surveys from organizations such as the National Cancer Institute and American Institute for Cancer Research have consistently found that fewer than half of U.S. adults know that alcohol increases cancer risk. One National Cancer Institute survey showed that 10% of adults think drinking wine decreases cancer risk. Another recent survey of young women found that only 28% were aware that drinking alcohol increases breast cancer risk. Advocacy groups like Consumer Federation of America have highlighted this disconnect between alcohol’s contribution to cancer risk, and consumer awareness of that contribution, to argue for an update to the warning label on alcoholic beverages, and for laws like the one passed in Alaska this week.
“We applaud the Alaska state legislature for seeking to enable consumers to make more informed choices around alcohol,” said Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy at Consumer Federation of America. “Alcohol-attributable cancers kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. The available evidence makes clear that most consumers fail to appreciate that risk. Policymakers in other states, and at the federal level, should follow Alaska’s lead in warning consumers about alcohol cancer risk.”
The Consumer Federation of America is a national organization of more than 250 nonprofit consumer groups that was founded in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.