The U.S. Surgeon General’s call for cancer warnings on alcohol is being welcomed by some substance-misuse prevention advocates in New Hampshire.
In an advisory issued last week, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called alcohol the “third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States,” contributing to around 20,000 cancer deaths each year.
The advisory cites a growing body of evidence that even one or two drinks per day can increase the risk of some cancers, though the risks go up with heavier consumption. Murthy is calling for updating warning labels to make those risks clear to consumers, which would require an act of Congress.
The New Hampshire Liquor Commission – which runs the state’s network of liquor stores and enforces state alcohol laws – declined to say whether it would support updated warning labels.
“Much of our focus is around, you know, the high consumers and the risk to addiction,” said Kate Frey, the vice president of advocacy at the Concord-based health policy organization New Futures. “But really the dialogue needs to change about this quote, unquote ‘moderate drinking.’”
Frey said she supports anything that better informs consumers about the health risks of alcohol, and encouraged state policymakers to follow the surgeon general’s lead. She said one priority should be limiting youth drinking, noting concerns about new products like Sunny D seltzers and Hard Mountain Dew that may appeal to younger ages.
While things like warning labels may seem incremental, Frey said she hopes that might change Americans’ perception around drinking.
Updated warning labels would be an important step in giving consumers more transparency, said Izabelle Wensley, a New Hampshire resident and board member of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance, an advocacy group focused on reducing alcohol-related harms.
She also hopes the surgeon general’s advisory opens the door to further regulation on how alcohol is sold and marketed, which industry groups often push back on.
“When the warning labels were first added to alcohol in 1988, that is the last time they've been updated,” she said. “So we haven't seen any change to that, even though the science has continued to evolve around alcohol, and we've known that this is a very harmful product.”
The surgeon general’s advisory dovetails with discussions going on at the state level about how to raise awareness of alcohol’s risks and ensure it isn’t being marketed to youth, said Patrick Tufts, who chairs the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
“We have had numerous conversations about expanding warning labels on alcohol, and are folks, you know, aware of all the complications that can come from abusing the number-one abused substance in New Hampshire?” he said. “Which continues to be alcohol.”
In a statement to NHPR, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission – which runs the state’s network of liquor stores and enforces state alcohol laws – declined to say whether it would support updated warning labels.
“The science and health communities will debate over the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption and Congress will determine if additional messaging is needed on products,” agency spokesperson E.J. Powers said. “Regardless of what is required, our message is clear and one that is shared throughout the entire beverage alcohol industry – please enjoy alcohol responsibly.”
Powers pointed to a recent initiative to promote non-alcoholic cocktails by creating an “NH Mocktail Month” in collaboration with Brown-Forman, the company that makes Jack Daniels. He also said TV screens in state liquor stores now show informational videos with resources about substance misuse.
The New Hampshire Brewers Association did not respond to a request for comment.
The idea of updating warning labels drew a more muted reaction from Sarah Desaulniers, the director of prevention services at Reality Check, a Jaffrey-based organization working to address substance use.
She said she hopes it will help people make more informed choices, but questioned how much it would actually change behavior. It’s more important, she said, to address “upstream” drivers of alcohol addiction and underage drinking.
“Do I want less alcohol consumption, specifically for our underage population? Of course,” she said. “Do I think that this label will act as a deterrent to people who are already drinking alcohol? Of course not.”
