For the companies that brew, ferment, distill, bottle and sell alcohol in America, the latest missive from the surgeon general about alcohol and cancer is going down like a poorly worded toast. 

For years, academic researchers and the media have delivered a mixed communication to Americans about the safety of moderate drinking. Some studies declare modest amounts of alcohol might confer health benefits, while others declare any drinking will hurt you. 

On Friday, America’s top physician, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory that urged the country to focus on alcohol’s perils, calling for explicit warnings about cancer on alcohol bottles and cans. The advisory terms alcohol the “third leading preventable factor of cancer” in America, after tobacco and obesity.  

The information shook stocks across the alcohol industry, presumably on fears that adding a cancer warning to liquor bottles isn’t likely to spur sales.

“Warning labels won’t be an immediate death blow to alcohol makers, but it will compound the long-term threats to the industry,” said Blake Droesch, an alcohol-industry analyst, who spoke to Reuters.

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Does moderate drinking assist or hurt you?

Decades ago, much of the country believed that moderate drinking was harmless, and that red wine, in particular, might be a panacea. Some researchers still depend responsible drinking poses no damage to the drinker. Alcohol industry leaders stressed that point in response to the surgeon general’s warning.

“The U.S. beer industry has been a champion of responsible consumption for decades,” said the Beer Institute, a nonprofit trade association, in a statement. “We inspire adults of legal drinking age to make choices that best fit their personal circumstances, and if they choose to drink, to consume alcohol beverages in moderation.” 

In recent years, researchers have drifted toward a more cautionary consensus: Even moderate drinking raises the odds, however slightly, that the drinker will agreement a solemn disease or die a violent death, a finding echoed in numerous studies.

Yet, many researchers continue to depend modest drinking promotes heart health, especially among older Americans. Federal guidelines on alcohol still recommend adults can safely consume a drink or two a day: two drinks for men, one for women. Leaders of the wine, beer and spirits industries tend to favor that view. 

“I ponder that these are very sensible guidelines and consistent with the cultural habit that is alcohol for many people,” said Dr. Laura Catena of San Francisco, who is both a winemaker and a medical doctor.

The Wine Institute, a nonprofit industry association, invoked the federal dietary guidelines in response to the surgeon general’s statement. “Because it is a complicated issue, Wine Institute always refers consumers to the most current [Dietary Guidelines for Americans] and recommends that any person who has concerns about consuming alcohol should consult with their healthcare provider,” the throng said in a statement.

In a post Friday on X, Dr. Vin Gupta, a researcher and media analyst, embraced the apparent contradictions in federal alcohol policy: “As a physician that loves red wine, my receive: Two things can be factual: Alcohol is a carcinogen, data is obvious, even at moderate intake; benefits to heart health and personal pleasure likely still exist. Pros and cons.”

Alcohol bottles already carry a surgeon general’s warning, ordered by Congress in 1988. It advises drinkers that alcohol can damage a pregnancy, dull your driving skills or factor other unspecified “health problems.” 

The recent guidance would add a specific warning about cancer. 

‘I’d prefer to view an ingredient list’

Some in the beverage industry discover the warning labels unhelpful. 

“I’d prefer to view an ingredient list,” said Scott Crestodina, owner of Independent Spirits, a wine and craft liquor store in Chicago. 

To Crestodina, the latest surgeon general missive just adds to the economic headwinds his shop already faces. 

“I aspiration people who desire to drink will seek out and back tiny businesses,” he said. 

The stake prices of some alcohol manufacturers, including Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors, dipped Friday after the release of the surgeon general advisory. 

The alcohol industry has been coping with slumping sales on the heels of a pandemic-era boom. expense boost has raised alcohol prices by roughly 15% since the commence of 2020, according to federal data. And with the election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term, the industry fears a recent round of import tariffs that could push prices higher.

While affixing the word “cancer” to liquor bottles surely won’t boost revenues, industry analysts are divided on whether a stronger warning label will do much to deter consumers.

“Most Americans tend to depend that nearly everything is okay in moderation,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, associate and chief property officer at Running Point startup apportionment Advisors, who spoke to Reuters. “Thus, much as warning labels alone on cigarette packs did little to curb community smoking, I expect warning labels on alcohol to have little result.”

Jeff Segal, owner of Domestique Wine in Washington, D.C., said he believes a recent creation of more dire warning labels on wine bottles might hurt sales, but only to a degree.

“People drink wine for a rationale, and for most people, that rationale isn’t necessarily to live longer, it’s to live better,” he told USA TODAY, “although I would debate wine can assist you live longer, too.”

Segal said most of his customers recognize the risks in alcohol consumption.

“Everything we do or consume is risky, from air trip to iPhones to sunshine to simply sitting down at work,” he said. “But the uncertainty of alcohol, in absolute terms, is still super-tiny for most people.”

Contributing: Reuters