“国会应授权在酒精饮料上添加癌症风险警告标签，以提高人们的认识。”The USA government's Medical Director Murthy has called for the addition of cancer risk warning labels on Alcoholic Beverages, stating that alcohol causes about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths in the USA each year. After the announcement, the stock price of Rémy Cointreau in France fell by 5%, and major beverage companies such as Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Diageo also saw declines.
Recently, high-ranking officials in the USA's health department have called for cancer risk warning labels to be added to alcoholic beverages, causing market fluctuations and leading to significant declines in the stock prices of several alcoholic beverage companies.
On Friday, USA Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a public health advisory report stating that alcohol consumption is the third largest preventable cause of cancer in the USA, following tobacco and obesity. He stated:
"Congress should authorize the addition of cancer risk warning labels to alcoholic beverages to raise public awareness."
Following the report's release, many alcoholic beverage companies saw their stock prices drop, generally losing more than 2%. Notably, the stock price of French Rémy Cointreau Group plummeted by 5%, while the stock price of Boston Beer Company in the USA fell by nearly 4%, and large alcoholic beverage companies like Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Diageo did not escape the decline either.
Murthy noted that currently, less than half of Americans are aware that drinking increases cancer risk. He pointed out that evidence shows that even consuming one drink or less per day can increase the risk of breast, oral, and throat cancers. He stated, "Alcohol causes approximately 0.1 million cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the USA."
According to the Wall Street Journal, alcohol can cause cancer through various mechanisms, including damaging DNA, increasing inflammation, altering hormone levels, and making it easier for other carcinogens to be absorbed by the body.
The World Health Organization's 2022 guidelines also indicate that "there is no such thing as a safe level of drinking." Previously, countries like Ireland and South Korea had labeled alcoholic beverages with cancer warnings. Currently, US law only requires alcoholic products to label risks associated with driving under the influence and drinking during pregnancy, as well as general health issue warnings.
Noel Brewer from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill expressed support for the proposal:
"Warning labels can prompt some individuals to change behavior and make more informed decisions. At least one scientific review found that participants were 26% less likely to choose products with health warning labels."
However, the American Beer Association stated that the beer industry encourages adults of legal drinking age to make choices based on personal circumstances and drink moderately. The Distilled Spirits Council of the USA also responded that many lifestyle choices carry potential risks, and the government should consider comprehensive scientific research.
It is currently unclear whether this proposal can gain bipartisan support in Congress. Analysts believe that even if it is passed, any label changes may take years to implement.
