The U.S. surgeon general on Friday recommended that alcohol carry warnings about cancer risks, and attorneys say that while warning labels might be warranted, alcohol is unlikely to become the next tobacco.
In the final days of the Biden administration, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an advisory that although Americans commonly drink, the links between alcohol and cancer are not commonly known to the public. Murthy wrote that alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable cancer, after tobacco and obesity.
Product liability attorneys told Law360 that despite some similarities, alcohol doesn't pose the same risks as tobacco — and noted the incoming change of administration clouds the picture.
The surgeon general's recommendation said that the ties between alcohol use and the risk of developing types of cancer, such as breast and liver cancer, have been established since the 1980s.
Louis J. Terminello, chair of Greenspoon Marder LLP's hospitality, alcohol and leisure group, said he would advise clients to accept those cancer warnings. Terminello said alcohol companies would be foolish to follow the path of tobacco industry, which fought tooth and nail to keep cancer warnings off of its products, ultimately unsuccessfully.
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And while cigarette use and alcohol consumption draw comparisons, attorneys also mentioned that alcohol in moderation hassocial and relaxation benefits, such as at weddings or on New Year's Eve.
"It's such a part of our social DNA," Paul Benson of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP said.
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While left-leaning states like California and Washington often push for regulations — such as with California's Prop 65 — those states and others have strong wine industries that may push against warnings about cancer, Newman pointed out.
"We don't know what the new administration's views are necessarily going to be, right?" he said. But given alcohol's role in society, this issue may not be wrapped up all that quickly.
"I don't think that this is going to be a debate that's going to be resolved anytime soon," Benson said. "I have a feeling it's going to be pretty fierce."
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