A new Alaska law requires all businesses that sell alcohol to post a warning that drinking alcohol can cause breast and colon cancers. It will impact bars, restaurants and liquor stores starting Aug. 1. The law also allows Alaskans as young as 18 to serve alcohol, with adequate supervision.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, co-wrote the bill and said he hopes the cancer-warning signs reduce drinking.
“This is one of a kind, first in the country language, stating that alcohol use specifically can cause colon and breast cancers, which are two of the most common cancers in the country, and in Alaska, and I think educating folks that alcohol is a risk factor for those very common cancers is going to save lives,” Gray said.
Alaska is the first state to pass a law specifically requiring cancer warnings for alcohol sales. California requires warnings on all cancer-causing substances through Proposition 65.
Drinking alcohol increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, including head and neck, liver, breast and colorectal cancers. Last year, former surgeon general Vivek Murthy released a report on the cancer risks of drinking alcohol and urged on-label warnings. Currently, those labels focus on the risks of drinking during pregnancy and reduced motor skills and haven’t been updated since 1988. The report identifies alcohol consumption as a leading preventable cause of cancer.
Gray said he hopes the law will have a ripple effect on the health and mental health of Alaskans.
“We have very high sexual assault rate, very high child abuse rate, very high suicide rates, all of those are associated with alcohol use,” Gray said. “And so, I think anything that we can do in Alaska that can discourage people from drinking more is going to help in other areas that this bill is not directly addressing.”
Research from as far back as the 1980s shows that alcohol increases the risk of cancer. But the alcohol industry, both statewide and nationally, have lobbied against laws requiring health warnings.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Alaskans 16 years old and up would be eligible to serve alcohol. The new law allows Alaskans 18 and up to serve alcohol.
