Study Finds No Link Between Moderate Drinking and Cancer Mortality

(Photo: Dylan de Jonge/Unsplash)

A newly published study is challenging some recent claims about alcohol and cancer, finding no association between moderate drinking and cancer mortality.

The research, published in May in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, examined long-term cancer mortality outcomes and found that heavy drinkers faced a higher risk of dying from cancer, while moderate drinkers did not experience an increased risk compared with abstainers.

Researchers also found that light drinkers had lower cancer mortality rates than non-drinkers.

“Compared to abstainers, heavy drinkers had an increased risk of cancer death, and light drinkers had a decreased risk of cancer mortality, and there was no association between moderate drinking and cancer mortality,” the study concluded.

The paper, titled “Re-evaluating the Alcohol-Cancer Link: Long Term Cancer Mortality Outcomes,” was led by cancer researcher Laura C. Pinheiro, Ph.D.

The findings arrive amid heightened public debate over alcohol’s health effects.

In recent years, public health agencies have increasingly emphasized the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. The World Health Organization stated in 2023 that no level of alcohol consumption is completely safe when it comes to cancer risk, while former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages earlier this year.

The study doesn’t appear to focus on

The new study focuses specifically on cancer mortality — deaths caused by cancer — rather than whether alcohol consumption increases the likelihood of developing cancer in the first place.

That distinction is likely to be a key point in how researchers, policymakers and industry groups interpret the findings.

According to the study authors, alcohol consumption should be evaluated within a broader lifestyle context that includes factors such as smoking status, diet, physical activity and socioeconomic conditions.

The researchers argued that these variables can significantly influence long-term health outcomes and should be considered when assessing alcohol-related risks.

The findings have drawn attention from alcohol industry groups, which say the study raises questions about public health messaging that treats all alcohol consumption as carrying some level of risk.

The National Association of Wine Retailers, which highlighted the study, said the results suggest health policy should focus more heavily on excessive alcohol consumption rather than moderate drinking.

The study’s conclusions are unlikely to end the debate surrounding alcohol and cancer.

A large body of research has found associations between alcohol consumption and increased risks for several types of cancer, including breast, liver and colorectal cancers. However, researchers continue to debate the magnitude of those risks, the role of drinking patterns, and how factors such as smoking, diet and overall health influence outcomes.

The authors said their findings support a more nuanced approach to evaluating alcohol’s relationship with cancer, particularly when examining long-term mortality outcomes rather than cancer incidence alone.

For consumers, the study’s central finding was straightforward: heavy alcohol consumption was associated with increased cancer mortality, while moderate drinking showed no observed association with a higher risk of dying from cancer.