Massachusetts doctor welcomes proposal to add warning labels to alcohol products
STONEHAM - A Massachusetts doctor said he welcomes the surgeon general's proposal to add warning labels to alcohol about the links to cancer but some business owners are concerned this will affect their sales.
Alcohol increases risk of cancer
According to Vivek Murthy, research shows even one drink a day can dramatically increase a person's risk of cancer, especially women. Murthy said drinking can make you more vulnerable to at least seven types of cancer.
"It's long overdue," said Dr. Phillip Gray, the chief of radiation oncology at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. He said science backs up the proposal.
"We're talking about 100,000 cases of alcohol-related cancer per year," said Gray. "Twenty-thousand cancer deaths from alcohol. So this is a lot."
Gray said it's not wrong to compare the risk to tobacco, saying breast and colorectal cancers are the highest risks from alcohol.
"We know tobacco is probably the biggest driver of cancer risk," said Gray. "Obesity's the second driver and we're adding alcohol is probably the third most common driver of cancer risk."
Concerns about liquor store sales
The warning label could impact sales for liquor stores. At Redstone Liquors in Stoneham, Kamal Ganglani said his store relies on non-alcoholic options to get through the slow season and events like Dry January, where people give up drinking for the month.
"As a consumer, if I were to walk into a store and pick up a bottle and it says, 'Hey, consuming this is going to cause cancer,' yeah, absolutely, I would probably be more likely to put it back," said Ganglani.
Ganglani said he's worried about the impact it could have on his business that's already changing following marijuana legalization.
"I think it's just really jumping the gun and will cause more panic than not," said Ganglani.
The recommendation from the surgeon general would require action from Congress to go into law.
