- The United States Surgeon General has released a report directly linking alcohol to cancer.
- BI evaluation found that spending on most kinds of alcohol fell – especially among young adults.
- This reflects Generation Z’s changing alcohol consumption habits.
Before the U.S. Surgeon General released a report on Friday linking alcohol to cancer, Americans – especially young people – had already been cutting back on alcohol spending for many years.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in his latest report advisory that alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable reason for cancer within the US, after smoking and obesity. He advisable updating warnings on alcohol packaging to extend awareness of the harmful effects of drinking. However, this requires an act of Congress.
“For individuals, it is important to remember that the risk of cancer increases as more alcohol is consumed” – Murthy he wrote in a post on X on Friday. “When considering whether and how much to drink, remember that less is better when it comes to cancer risk.”
Do you intend to vary your drinking habits in response to the Surgeon General’s advice? Tell us why in this survey.
Many Americans have already made cuts. Business Insider analyzed alcohol spending data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to get a way of how alcohol consumption has modified. It showed that spending has fallen over the past few many years, especially among Americans under 25.
For spirits and beer specifically, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the share of private consumption spending has declined since 1959. In the meantime, there was a slight increase in personal spending on wine.
Additionally, spending data adjusted to 2023 dollars using the Consumer Price Index shows that younger adults under 25 spent less on average than years earlier on this age group. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that spending by Americans under age 25 on alcoholic beverages is analogous to that of individuals age 75 and older.
The decline in alcohol consumption among young people reflects the changing habits and priorities of Generation Z and Millennials in comparison with other generations. Gallup questionnaire 2023 found that 62% of adults under 35 said they drink, up from 72% 20 years ago, with some citing health problems because the major reason.
Gen Z also prefers more lively places like fitness groups where they’ll socialize quite than drink, marking a shift in younger Americans’ behavior.
It is unclear how the alcohol industry will react to Murthy’s latest report. However, warning labels on alcoholic beverages haven’t been updated because the Eighties, and Murthy urged Congress to take motion by updating labels and changing advisable drinking limits to forestall cancer among the U.S. population.
