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Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Attitudes: Explicit and Implicit Attitudes
Attitudes Toward Cancer and Heart Disease Warning Labels on Alcoholic Beverages in the United States
Naomi K Greene1, Alexandra F Kritikos2, Elizabeth A Mumford1
1Public Health Research Department, NORC at the University of Chicago, Washington, DC, USA.
Objective:
Most people in the United States are unaware that alcohol causes cancer and increases heart disease risk. Warning labels on alcohol containers can increase knowledge about these harms. Yet, it is unclear if Americans support this policy. We assessed attitudes toward cancer and heart disease warning labels on alcohol containers.
Methods:
In May 2024, we surveyed 1095 adults (aged ≥18 y) participating in AmeriSpeak, a nationally representative panel of the US noninstitutionalized civilian adult population. We analyzed support for warning labels overall and by sociodemographic characteristics by using descriptive statistics weighted to represent the US population.
Results:
Overall, 4 in 10 respondents supported cancer or heart disease warning labels on alcohol containers. Fewer than 10% opposed warning labels; many were neutral. More young adults (aged 18-29 y; 57.9% [95% CI, 44.6%-70.0%]) than older adults (aged ≥60 y; 36.0% [95% CI, 30.3%-42.1%]) supported cancer warning labels (P = .04). More women (50.8%; 95% CI, 45.0%-56.6%) than men (40.5%; 95% CI, 34.1%-47.2%) supported heart disease warning labels (P = .03).
Conclusions:
Most people in the United States are neutral about or support cancer and heart disease warning labels on alcohol containers. Leveraging warning labels is a cost-effective way to inform the public about alcohol's link to cancer and heart disease.
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