'Alcohol labels in US should carry cancer warning'

Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the US Surgeon General said on Friday in a move that could signal a shift towards more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector.

- 

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer, but most US consumers remain unaware of this.

Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink. US dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.

"Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity," Murthy's office said in a statement accompanying the new report, adding the type of alcohol consumed does not matter.