Is Alcohol a Carcinogen?
By the leading classifications, yes. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic to humans, its Group 1, in 1988, according to IARC's own 2025 press release. The National Cancer Institute says the US National Toxicology Program has listed consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen in its Report on Carcinogens since the ninth edition, in 2000, and that IARC's classification rests on sufficient evidence that alcohol causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver.
The US Surgeon General's 2025 advisory on alcohol and cancer risk says research has shown alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer for at least seven sites, the breast (in women), colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box. It calls alcohol a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year.
Among its recommendations, the advisory calls for updating the Surgeon General's existing health warning label on alcoholic beverages to include a warning about the risk of cancer associated with drinking.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Government sourceThe US Surgeon General's 2025 advisory says research has shown alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer for at least seven sites, breast (in women), colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box. US Surgeon General, HHS ↗
- Government sourceThe Surgeon General's advisory calls alcohol a leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year. US Surgeon General, HHS ↗
- Government sourceThe Surgeon General's advisory recommends updating the health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages to include a warning about the risk of cancer. US Surgeon General, HHS ↗
- Government sourceThe National Cancer Institute says IARC classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen due to sufficient evidence that it causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver in people. National Cancer Institute ↗
- Government sourceThe National Cancer Institute says the National Toxicology Program has listed consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen since the ninth Report on Carcinogens, in 2000. National Cancer Institute ↗
- Government sourceIn an October 2025 press release, IARC said its Monographs programme classified alcoholic beverages as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) in 1988. IARC, World Health Organization ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.