Lawmakers representing winemakers across the country brushed off a recent surgeon general advisory that cited alcohol use as the “leading preventable” cause of cancer in the country and called for updated warning labels on drinks.
“I’ve been around long enough to see surgeon general recommendations come and go,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, who owns a vineyard and co-founded the Congressional Wine Caucus. “There’s been no end to the number of items that have been pointed out to possibly be causing cancer, and if you subscribe to all those, you wouldn’t eat, drink anything, you wouldn’t do anything.”
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s Jan. 3 report concludes that the risk of some cancers increases even when consumers drink in moderation but that most Americans don’t realize it. Researchers found that the risk of developing certain cancers starts to increase with “one or fewer drinks per day.”