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The top medical officer of the USA, Dr. Vivek Murthy, has called for cancer warnings on wine and all other alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is a "recognized, preventable cause of cancer," wrote the Surgeon General of the public health service in the USA a few days ago in a statement.
Alcohol consumption is responsible for about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths per year in the USA. Therefore, the US Congress must update the warning labels introduced in 1988 on beverages and indicate the cancer risk. The number of annual cancer deaths attributable to alcohol in the USA is significantly higher than the 13,500 traffic deaths related to alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, "the majority of Americans know nothing about this risk.".
For years, researchers worldwide have been discussing the safety of moderate alcohol consumption. Many studies claim that small amounts of alcohol could produce health benefits, while other scientists argue that any consumption is harmful. Some scientists who recommend zero alcohol are accused of being close to the abstinence movement Movendi.
The federal guidelines in the USA continue to recommend that adults can safely consume "one or two units" per day: two for men, one for women.
Murthy's chances of enforcing the demand are good with the new US government under President Donald Trump: Because he does not drink alcohol, the designated Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been abstinent for over 40 years.
(uka / Reuters, USA Today, among others)