Updated Report on Drinking Alcohol Confirms Long-standing Adventist Position

Alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of several types of cancer, according to the 2025 United States Surgeon General’s Advisory report released on January 3. In the report U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy called for alcohol companies to label their products, alerting consumers about the risk. Murthy’s proposal would require approval from the U.S. Congress.

In the past, moderate drinking had thought to benefit one’s heart, but improved research methods are showing that any purported benefit is surpassed by the harm alcohol has on the human body, including the risk of contracting cancer, said former health ministries director of the General Conference Peter Landless and current director Zeno Charles-Marcel.

“Robust evidence has successfully challenged the long-standing belief that moderate alcohol consumption might be harmless or even beneficial,” Landless and Charles-Marcel recently stated. “The research indicates that there is no safe level of alcohol intake, particularly concerning its links to cancer and heart disease. This shift in understanding has been reinforced by the findings of global health organizations and task forces focused on alcohol-related harm.”

According to the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. (NCI), “there is a strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer,” listing consumption of alcoholic beverages as “a known human carcinogen.” The NCI states that alcohol consumption increases risk of several types of cancer, including head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal cancer. Also, the NCI states, “evidence is accumulating that alcohol consumption is associated with increased risks of melanoma and of prostate and pancreatic cancers.”

Researchers believe that alcohol metabolizes (breaks down) ethanol in alcoholic drinks to acetaldehyde, which can damage the DNA, according to the NCI. Alcohol consumption also “[impairs] the body’s ability to break down and absorb a variety of nutrients that may be associated with cancer risk, including vitamin A; nutrients in the vitamin B complex . . . ; vitamin D; vitamin E; and carotenoids.” And it “[increases] the blood levels of estrogen, a sex hormone linked to the risk of breast cancer.”

According to NBC News, outside experts applauded the idea of adding cancer warning labels to alcoholic drinks. “Despite decades of compelling evidence of this connection, too many in the public remain unaware of alcohol’s risk,” states NBC News, quoting Bruce Scott, former president of the American Medical Association. Scott added that the report, “coupled with a push to update the surgeon general’s health warning label on alcoholic beverages, will bolster awareness, improve health, and save lives.”

The Seventh-day Adventist Church had a long story of advocating for temperance and against alcohol consumption. Adventist leaders believe that the latest trends and findings seem to confirm the soundness of the church’s longstanding position. “The evidence is clear: no level of alcohol intake can be considered safe,” Landless and Charles-Marcel stated, adding that “the church cannot change its stance on alcohol.”

A recently published book entitled Alcohol: All Risk, No Benefit, edited by Landless and Duane C. McBride, describes some of these risks and shares the latest research on the subject.

“The church cannot change its stance on alcohol,” Landless and Charles-Marcel stated. “Thankfully, the world of health science has changed its position.”