Alcohol’s link to cancer

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said last week that alcohol should come with a cancer warning. Experts say it’s long overdue. Research suggests that moderate drinking — even a celebratory glass here and there — comes with health risks. If it’s really that serious, is it time to crack down on the alcohol industry like we did with Big Tobacco?

On this episode of Studio 2, a hundred years after prohibition failed, we’re asking if restrictions are even possible, and if they’ll make people reconsider their drinking habits beyond Dry January. Should we change warning labels, add higher taxes, and put more regulation on alcohol ads?

And we ask our audience: Will the surgeon general’s warnings push you to change your habits? What’s the best way to influence large-scale change? And what do you think about the pros and cons of drinking?

Guests:

David Jernigan, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management at Boston University School of Public Health

Luis Seija, Post-doctoral fellow with the National Clinicians Scholars program at the University of Pennsylvania