Alaska State Representative Andrew Gray today introduced the “Alcoholic Beverages and Cancer Act” or “ABC Act,” a first of its kind bill to require all alcohol retailers in the state to post cancer warning signs at the point-of-sale. While California has long required alcohol cancer warnings under its Proposition 65 legislation, this law is the first to single out alcohol specifically as a carcinogen.
“This bill represents an important milestone,” said Thomas Gremillion, Director of Food Policy at Consumer Federation of America, “Cancers caused by alcohol kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. At the same time, survey after survey shows that fewer than half of adults are aware that alcohol increases cancer risk. One survey showed that 10% of adults think drinking wine decreases cancer risk. It does not. Drinking any type of alcohol—even small amounts—increases cancer risk.”
According to American Cancer Society researchers, alcohol use represents the 3rd and 4th leading cause of cancer for women and men, respectively. 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.
“Alcohol’s cancer burden has fallen particularly hard on historically disadvantaged groups such as African-Americans and indigenous peoples,” said Gremillion, “and low awareness has contributed to that burden.”
Alaska Natives represent 17 percent of the state’s population, and are at significantly higher risk for alcohol harms, including cancer. A recent analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, shows that rates of alcohol-associated cancers among American Indians in Montana were more than 40% higher than among White Montanans. Epidemiological data show similarly increased risk for African Americans. According to one recent study, among those who drink in excess of dietary guidelines, African Americans are at a more than 100% increased risk of breast cancer, and nearly 300% increased risk of colorectal cancer, compared to their white counterparts. Researchers have also found that African Americans are less likely to be aware that alcohol causes cancer.
“The alcohol industry has sought to cast doubt on the scientific consensus that alcohol causes cancer for decades,” said Gremillion. “But the evidence has only gotten stronger and industry lobbyists are having to resort to more and more radical tactics.”
Last year, consumer advocates complained that U.S. trade officials were beholden to the alcohol lobby after they raised objections within the World Trade Organization to a national law in Ireland that will soon require cancer warnings on alcohol labels. At the beginning of this year, advocates cried foul again when the National Academies of Sciences announced that a special expert committee to study alcohol’s health effects would include several scientists who had previously accepted funding from the alcohol industry. Congress delegated authority to the National Academies following a report from the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that recommended revising drinking limits downward for men, in part due to cancer risk.
The World Health Organization first documented the link between alcohol and a variety of cancers in 1987. Researchers estimate that cancers associated with alcohol consumption affect nearly 90,000 Americans each year, and that alcohol consumption represents the third largest modifiable risk factor contributing to cancer cases in women (behind smoking and obesity) and the fourth largest in men (behind smoking, obesity, and UV radiation). In 2014, alcohol consumption was associated with an estimated 6.4% – 50,110 – of all cancer cases in women, and 4.8% – 37,410 – of all cancer cases in men, with the largest burden for female breast cancer (39,060 cases).
Despite these impacts, however, surveys from organizations such as the National Cancer Institute and American Institute for Cancer Research have found that fewer than half of U.S. adults know that alcohol increases cancer risk. This disconnect between alcohol’s contribution to cancer risk, and consumer awareness of that contribution, supports the need for a warning label, according to consumer groups.
“Consumers deserve accurate information about alcohol and its risks. At a time when alcohol-related harms are soaring to unprecedented heights and dragging down U.S. life expectancy, messaging to raise awareness of alcohol cancer risk provides an important counterbalance to Big Alcohol’s propaganda,” said Gremillion. “Laws like Rep. Gray’s will enable more informed drinking decisions, and ultimately save lives.”
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.