This talk introduces the evidence linking alcohol consumption to cancer risk and explains why most Americans still do not know about it. It opens with alcohol basics, including standard drink sizes, U.S. drinking guidelines, and current national consumption patterns, then reviews the range of harms associated with drinking and the prevention paradox that places most population-level harm among moderate drinkers. The core section covers the seven cancers causally linked to alcohol, the 1998 IARC Group 1 carcinogen classification, and the observational, laboratory, and mechanistic evidence supporting causality, along with practical guidance on interpreting absolute versus relative risk. The talk closes with national awareness data and a call to action spanning warning labels, health education campaigns, provider-patient conversations, evidence-based alcohol policy, and community-led solutions.
Priscilla Martinez-Matyszczyk is a Scientist and Deputy Scientific Director at the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, and a Lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Her research examines population drinking patterns and the health consequences of alcohol use, with a focus on the alcohol-cancer link and how the public understands it. She led the Drink Less for Your Breasts campaign, co-directs the National Alcohol Survey, and is a Co-Chair of the 2026 Alcohol Policy Conference.