Consumer, Public Health Groups Petition for Cancer Warning on Alcohol
CFA joined Alcohol Justice, the American Institute for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Public Health Association, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance in submitting the following petition to the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
The petition asks TTB to report to Congress, pursuant to the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of 1988, to update the government health warning on alcoholic beverages so that it includes a cancer warning statement, such as:
WARNING: According to the Surgeon General, consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause cancer, including breast and colon cancers.
Although alcohol consumption represents the third largest contributor to cancer cases in women (behind smoking and obesity), surveys indicate that fewer than half of consumers are aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer.