Shares of alcohol makers fall after US official calls for cancer warnings

Shares of alcohol producers dropped after the US Surgeon General called for mandatory cancer warnings on alcoholic beverages.

On January 3, the US' top health official released a public health advisory stating that alcohol consumption is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the US, following tobacco and obesity, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended that Congress authorize updated warning labels on alcohol products to raise awareness about the cancer risks associated with drinking, among other measures aimed at reducing cancer rates related to alcohol consumption. His statement echoed past public health efforts targeting the tobacco industry, which led to a significant decline in smoking over the years.

Following the advisory, alcohol stocks experienced a decline. Shares of Boston Beer, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, fell 3.1 per cent during morning trading. Molson Coors saw a 2.1 per cent drop, while Constellation Brands, the maker of Modelo beer, lost 1.3 per cent, and Brown-Forman, the producer of Jack Daniel’s, dropped 1 per cent.

In Europe, Diageo fell by 3.7 per cent in late London trading, while AB InBev saw a 2.9 per cent decline. Rémy Cointreau plunged 5 per cent, and Heineken dropped 1.7 per cent.

Alcohol was classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in the 1980s, meaning it is a known cause of cancer in humans. Murthy stated that evidence of the connection between alcohol and cancer has grown stronger over time. The risk for some cancers, such as those of the breast, mouth, and throat, begins to rise even with one drink or fewer per day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidance in 2022 that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption that does not harm health. WHO reported that half of all alcohol-related cancers were attributed to light or moderate drinking, defined as less than one and a half liters of wine, 3.5 liters of beer, or 450ml of spirits per week.

Murthy pointed out that fewer than half of Americans are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer, a level of awareness far lower than that for risks like radiation, tobacco, and asbestos.

While many countries, including the US, require some health warnings on alcohol labels—such as the dangers of drinking during pregnancy—few include warnings about the increased risk of cancer. In recent years, Ireland and South Korea have added cancer warnings to alcohol packaging.

Alcohol increases the risk of cancer by damaging DNA, causing inflammation, or altering hormone levels, such as estrogen. It also makes it easier for other carcinogens, like tobacco smoke, to be absorbed into the body.

By Vafa Guliyeva