How the surgeon general’s alcohol advisory could impact restaurant sales

Last week – and just in time for Dry January – United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory outlining the link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. In the advisory, he noted that alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity.

The scientific evidence supporting this link, the advisory adds, has been “growing over the past four decades,” however less than half of Americans recognize it as a risk factor for cancer. Murthy recommends steps to increase awareness about the alcohol/cancer connection, including an update to the existing surgeon general’s health warning label on alcoholic beverages, a reassessment of guideline limits, and expanded educational efforts from public health professionals and health care providers...