Click in for more news from The Hill{beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story Surgeon General wants alcohol to come with cancer warningThe U.S. surgeon general on Friday called for health warning labels on alcohol to include risks of certain cancers.   © Getty “Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in his advisory issued Friday. “Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk.”  Murthy noted cancer risk increases as alcohol consumption increases. For certain cancers — including breast, mouth and throat cancers — he said evidence shows that the risk of developing cancer may start to increase around one or more drinks per day.  The advisory comes amid a major debate in the scientific community about whether or how much alcohol consumption is safe for adults, and ahead of an update to the influential federal Dietary Guidelines.   The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting intake to two drinks or less a day for men and one drink or less a day for women, and that overall “drinking less is better for health than drinking more.”   But how much alcohol is safe? Experts say that’s hard to determine. The World Health Organization says there is no “safe amount of alcohol consumption.”   A report in December from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that moderate drinking may be associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, as well as all-cause mortality.    Yet it also found moderate drinking was associated with a higher risk of certain cancers, mainly breast cancer in women.   Howard Ross, chief of surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said the link between alcohol and cancer isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. The value of a warning label is that it can inform the public, he said.  “If patients know that indeed there is a risk, then they can modify their behavior to optimize their health,” he said. “The question isn’t ‘is there a safe level’ but ‘what is the safest level.’”    Ross said the risk is different for different types of cancer, as well as a person’s other health factors.    “So having a healthy diet, not being obese, exercising, not using tobacco products, staying away from UV radiation, those are all modifiable risk factors. So alcohol becomes one of those,” Ross said.  “If you had a significant concern about cancer development, and you're in the group that wants to do everything you can, you might want to refrain from alcohol.”   Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.  Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:  Murkowski says she supports extending ObamaCare premium subsidiesSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she supports extending enhanced subsidies to help people afford premiums on ObamaCare plans ahead of what’s expected to be an intense debate among congressional Republicans this year.  The enhanced subsidies were first put into effect during the height of the coronavirus pandemic as part of President Biden’s 2021 economic recovery law and then extended as part of the Inflation Reduction …  Full Story  1 cigarette can decrease life expectancy by 20 minutes: DataNew research from the United Kingdom has revealed that life expectancy can decrease by an estimated 22 minutes for women and 17 minutes for men due to a single cigarette. In 2000, data published in The BMJ estimated one cigarette would only cost a person 11 minutes of their life. Since this estimate, daily cigarette consumption in Britain has dropped significantly for men (15.8 to 11.5) and women (13.6 to 9.5), according to …  Full Story  Pharma giant seeks to join lawsuit against FDA over weight loss drugs Eli Lilly is seeking to end a lawsuit filed by a pharmacy trade group against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by joining as a defendant, stating it wants to end the “entitlement” some pharmacies have practiced in mass-marketing copies of its highly popular GLP-1 medications. The lawsuit in question concerns the FDA’s decision to officially declare the shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound, both forms of …  Full Story   In Other News Branch out with a different read: Cruise ship stomach bug illnesses hit 12-year high: CDC More people experienced gastrointestinal illnesses while aboard a cruise ship in 2024 than any other year since 2012, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC reported that there were 16 outbreaks of stomach illnesses aboard cruise ships last year, which affected 1,894 passengers and 245 crew members. The data shows that there were also 16 outbreaks of stomach bugs in 2012 but indicated … Full Story   Around the Nation Local and state headlines on health care: KY lawmaker under ‘no delusion’ bill restoring abortion access will pass. She’s filing it anyway (Kentucky Lantern)  W.Va. health officials advise caution against ‘stomach bug’ (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)  DOJ report: OKC police violated federal laws protecting people with behavioral issues (The Oklahoman)  What We're Reading Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Trump’s FDA transition team takes shape with former Hahn adviser, courts top Capitol Hill aide (Stat)  Stimulant users are caught in fatal ‘fourth wave’ of opioid epidemic (KFF Health News)  The 'Amazon effect' on pharmacy isn't about medicine (Axios)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: Judge orders Trump sentenced on Jan. 10, signals no punishment for conviction A New York judge has ordered President-elect Trump’s criminal sentencing for Jan. 10, rejecting his demand that his hush money case be dismissed to … Read more Live updates: Mike Johnson wins Speakership on first ballot after 2 ‘no’ votes flip Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) succeeded in keeping his gavel for the 119th Congress, winning in the House’s Speakership vote in one round Friday.  … Read more What People Think Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill: US health care reform: Why there are no easy fixes  You're all caught up. 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