Having a mocktail instead of a cocktail could reduce your risk for developing 7 known types of cancer

MIAMI, FLORIDA (Jan. 15, 2025) – The U.S. Surgeon General has recommended that alcoholic beverages carry cancer risk warning labels, citing a growing body of research that shows alcohol as a group 1 carcinogen. But more than half of U.S. residents don’t know that alcohol consumption increases their risk of developing cancer, or that it’s the third leading preventable cause of cancer after obesity and tobacco use. A fact health experts hope people will now take more seriously.

It will take time for people to embrace this news.

Tracy Crane, Ph.D., RDN, director of lifestyle medicine, digital health and cancer prevention at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System, has long advocated for healthy lifestyle choices. “Now we finally have enough hard evidence to make this statement,” she says, adding that curbing alcohol consumption will not be easy. She believes the campaign against tobacco smoking can provide a blueprint for the way forward. Just as smoking has gone from hip to unfashionable, so can drinking alcohol.

“Alcohol is part of our culture, part of the social fabric,” Crane acknowledges. “It’s been around forever. There are clubs and hobbies that exist around it. So, it’s going to take time for people to embrace this.”

Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., M.S., chief of the Division of Hematology at Sylvester, agrees, adding that the surgeon general’s call is a big step forward – identifying a modifiable cancer risk and letting people know what they can do.

In 2024, he wrote a guest column for The Washington Post listing the behaviors he, as an oncologist, avoids to lower his cancer risk. Avoiding alcohol was number two on his list. Even a modest intake of one drink a day is not without danger, he wrote.

“The more you drink, the higher your risk,” Sekeres adds. Yet, less than half of Americans know that higher alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cancer. Alcoholic beverages already carry labels warning that consumption can impair driving ability and that pregnant women should not drink. The cancer risk warning, if approved, would go further.

Seven types of cancer are linked to alcohol use.

In the advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, the surgeon general draws the direct link between alcohol intake and at least seven types of cancer: breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, mouth, throat and voice box (larynx). And the kind of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or hard liquor — doesn’t matter. 

Alcohol is blamed for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths in the U.S. every year. That’s more than the annual 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic fatalities.

“This is behavior you can change,” explains Paola Rossi, M.D., M.S.Ed., clinical program director for lifestyle medicine at Sylvester. “The take-home message here is that alcohol is a carcinogen—like tobacco and asbestos—but you can do something about lowering your risk.”

Higher rates of cancer for those under 50 years of age.

The suggestion for warning labels comes at a particularly crucial time in the long history of alcohol consumption. More adults under the age of 50 have been diagnosed with colorectal and breast cancers during the past few decades, and research points the finger at alcohol use.

What’s more, women and seniors, are also drinking more — and suffering the consequences. Both groups metabolize alcohol more slowly, so blood alcohol levels tend to stay higher.

The World Health Organization says there is no safe limit for alcohol.

According to a 2023 World Health Organization declaration, there is no safe limit for alcohol consumption. However, the U.S. has been slow to update drinking guidelines. Current U.S. Dietary Guidelines suggest men can consume two drinks or less a day and women one drink or less. (One drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits). A report five years ago suggested changing the guidelines to one drink a day for men, but the published recommendations were not rewritten.

Changing long-held habits and beliefs won’t be easy, but it is certainly doable.  “The warning draws attention, and it drives the message home,” Sekeres says. “We all make decisions that balance risks with benefits. In this case, more people will ask themselves, is drinking those beers really worth it?”

Try new mocktails to curb the urge to drink.

Crane says that when cancer patients at Sylvester are instructed about the health consequences of alcohol, their mindset changes. In fact, the narrative around alcohol is already changing. People are embracing Dry January and Sober October. Recipes for mocktails – cocktails without alcohol — appear everywhere on social media, and the market for non-alcoholic beers and drinks is growing.

Rossi suggests people who want to stop drinking consider the choice not as an act of deprivation but one of discovery. She encourages people to be adventurous. Try new drink recipes without alcohol. Take non-alcoholic drinks to a party and share with friends. Always use a nice glass. 

“For many people, being told not to do something makes them feel excluded, and it’s what they end up thinking about most,” Rossi adds.  “Turn that around and look at it in a positive way. Make something special of your choice not to consume alcohol.”

Try these non-alcoholic drink recipes for self-care:

Hibiscus Sour

2 1/2 ounces of hibiscus tea, chilled

3/4 ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed

3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 ounce agave nectar

1 egg white or 1 tbsp aquafaba (optional)

• Brew a cup of hibiscus tea, then chill.
• Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and (if using egg white) "dry shake" without ice for 20 seconds.
• Add ice, shake again until chilled, and double strain into a coupe glass.

Spicy Watermelon Splash

4 cups watermelon cubes

1/4 teaspoon sriracha

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

7-8 mint leaf

• Chop the watermelon into cubes and add it to the blender jar.
• Add mint leaves, sriracha, and black pepper to the blender.
• Add ice cubes (if the watermelon was not previously frozen)
• Blend everything together until it is smooth.
• Pour it on top of the ice, garnish with a piece of mint and serve cold.

Piña Colada

1 1/2 cups unsweetened frozen pineapple chunks

1/4 cup ice

3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

splash of lime juice (optional)

• Place frozen pineapple chunks and ice in a blender.
• Pour pineapple juice and coconut milk over the top. Puree until smooth. Taste test for your desired sweetness and add sugar if needed.
• Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh pineapple wedges or maraschino cherries.

Read more on the InventUM blog and follow @SylvesterCancer on X for the latest news on its research and care.

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