James Comer slams Biden admin’s call for cancer warning on alcohol

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said Saturday that the surgeon general’s call for alcohol to be labeled with a cancer warning is based on politicized science and data handpicked.

Vivek Murthy, Biden’s surgeon general, said in a report Friday that alcohol should come with a warning label because it is believed to be a leading cause of preventable cancer.

Murthy said in a written statement announcing the 22-page report:

Alcohol is a well-established and preventable cause of cancer, responsible for approximately 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the United States – more than the 13,500 deaths per year in motor vehicle accidents. linked to alcohol – and yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk.

The study claims that seven types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer, are linked to alcohol consumption. To raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol, Murthy called for alcohol to carry warning labels, the same way tobacco products have warning labels.

Alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, a chemical known to damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer.

Comer strongly condemned the Surgeon General’s report.

“The Surgeon General’s advice on alcohol consumption politicizes science to achieve a predetermined outcome. The opinion cherry-picks data from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study – a study that is much larger and more comprehensive, and does not draw the same drastic conclusions as the Surgeon General’s. he explained in a written statement to Breitbart News.

Comer continued:

For nearly a year, the Oversight Committee has demanded transparency from the Biden administration regarding the formulation of its dietary guidelines, but it continues to obstruct our oversight. The lack of transparency surrounding the Surgeon General’s review process for this opinion is another example of the Biden administration operating behind closed doors rather than providing the American people with full transparency.

As Comer said in his statement, the Kentucky conservative pointed out in a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra that the opacity of HHS-funded studies on drug consumption Alcohol “could aim to undermine” Congress’s intention to study the scientific effects of alcohol.

Comer and Lisa McClaim (R-MI), chairwoman of the Health Care and Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee, launched an investigation into the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, particularly related to alcohol consumption.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and the National Nutrition Oversight Act require that dietary guidelines be based on scientific evidence and meet congressional intent.

In September, Comer issued a subpoena for documents and information, to which HHS provided only 18 pages of relevant documents.

Republicans noted that eight of his office’s 12 policy goals revolve around mental health and the effects of gun violence.

For example, Murthy, in a report highlighting alleged racial disparities in tobacco use, called tobacco-related illnesses a “social disease.”

“The Biden Department of Health and Human Services must release all documents and communications related to the development of this advisory so that the American people can see how this politicized recommendation was created,” Comer concluded his statement.

Sean Moran is a politics reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on @SeanMoran3.