Survey: Public awareness that alcohol increases cancer risk has risen again

Almost six in ten Americans now understand that drinking alcohol regularly raises the likelihood of developing cancer later in life, according to a nationally representative survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania. The poll found that 58 percent of U.S. adults recognized the alcohol-cancer link, a statistically significant gain of five percentage points from the previous measurement.

The increase brings public awareness back to roughly the same level seen in an earlier survey, when 56 percent of Americans identified the connection. That earlier result followed a surgeon general advisory warning of a causal link between alcohol use and at least seven kinds of cancer. Compared with the first time APPC asked the question, the current figure is 18 points higher.

The results come from the latest wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health survey, conducted by SSRS among 1,842 U.S. adults using web and telephone interviews from a nationally representative probability sample. The data were weighted to reflect the U.S. adult population, and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The survey was fielded soon after new research attracted widespread coverage. Researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine reported that even small and moderate amounts of alcohol raised cancer risk, and news reports based on that work noted that alcohol-related cancer deaths in the United States have more than doubled over three decades.

Laura A. Gibson, an APPC research analyst, said it is not possible to directly connect the rise in awareness to coverage of the Miami study or to the surgeon general’s warning. Still, she said ongoing media attention can help broaden public understanding of health risks.

Even with the improvement, a large share of adults still do not know about the danger. More than four in ten Americans, or 42 percent, do not recognize that regular alcohol use increases cancer risk. Nearly one-quarter, 24 percent, say they are unsure whether alcohol affects their chances of getting cancer, and 17 percent incorrectly believe it does not matter.

The policy backdrop has also changed in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans did not include the earlier explicit warning that alcohol is linked to cancer, although they still advise limiting alcoholic beverages for health reasons.

APPC has tracked public knowledge, beliefs, and behavior on vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other major health issues through its ASAPH survey and other national samples since 2021. The survey team includes Gibson; Ken Winneg, managing director of survey research; Patrick E. Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute; research analyst Shawn Patterson Jr.; and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, APPC’s director emerita.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center, founded in 1993, says its mission is to help inform the public and policymakers about the role of communication in improving understanding of political, science, and health issues at local, state, and federal levels.

Subject of Research: Public awareness in the United States of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk

Article Title: Public knowledge that alcohol causes cancer rebounds

Article References: Public knowledge that alcohol causes cancer rebounds. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: alcohol, cancer risk, public health survey, Annenberg Public Policy Center, health communication, surgeon general advisory, dietary guidelines, ASAPH survey, U.S. adults, risk perception, Public, knowledge