Coming to Terms with the Alcohol-Cancer Link: A Work in Progress

Although substantial evidence links even moderate levels of alcohol consumption to breast, colorectal, and five other cancers, awareness in the US population of this evidence is suboptimal. That lack of awareness-complemented by industry resistance to policy change-has hindered efforts to address alcohol use in cancer prevention. The article by Hawk and colleagues in this issue reports that 86% of surveyed NCI-Designated Cancer Centers believe they have an obligation to educate the public about the cancer harms associated with alcohol, a promising finding given that people trust clinicians more than other sources of health information. Nevertheless, Hawk and colleagues also find that nearly half of these cancer centers do not currently implement policies that de-emphasize alcohol use at sponsored events. Moreover, about half questioned the definitiveness of the current literature, although many indicated that knowledge of approaches taken at peer cancer centers could persuade them otherwise. The findings present some hope that progress is feasible, but significant barriers remain. We discuss the meaning of these findings along with parallels to the complex history of tobacco control. See related article by Hawk et al., p. 217.