A groundbreaking study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has added pancreatic cancer to the growing list of deadly diseases linked to alcohol consumption, raising fresh concerns about America’s favorite drinks.

Published on June 11, 2025, in PLOS Medicine, the research pinpoints beer and spirits as key culprits, challenging long-held assumptions about safe drinking levels.

With roughly 75,000 Americans diagnosed annually with alcohol-related cancers, the findings underscore an urgent need for public awareness, even as the beverage industry stays silent.

“Alcohol consumption is a known carcinogen, but until now, the evidence linking it specifically to pancreatic cancer has been considered inconclusive,” said Dr. Pietro Ferrari, head of the IARC Nutrition and Metabolism Branch, in a press release.

The study, tracking 2.5 million participants with a median age of 57 over 16 years, recorded 10,067 pancreatic cancer cases. Each daily increase of 10 grams of ethanol—roughly one standard drink—raised the risk by 3%.

Women consuming 15 to 30 grams daily, about one to two drinks, faced a 12% higher risk.

“Our findings provide new evidence that pancreatic cancer may be another cancer type associated with alcohol consumption, a connection that has been underestimated until now,” Ferrari added.

The study builds on the U.S. Surgeon General’s January 2025 advisory, which tied alcohol to seven cancers: breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, mouth, throat, and voice box.

“What’s important to know is that there really isn’t a safe level of drinking when it comes to cancer risk,” said Dr. Neha Pathak, WebMD’s chief physician editor, who wasn’t involved in the research.

She told Fox News Digital, “This study reinforces that message—but it also shows how complex these links are, and how we need to keep digging deeper into the role of alcohol and different drinking habits in cancer development.”

Notably, wine showed no significant link to pancreatic cancer, unlike beer and spirits.

Experts are sounding alarms. “This is in keeping with alcohol as a toxin that directly inflames and damages pancreatic cells,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.

He debunked past claims of alcohol’s health benefits, saying, “There have been reports for years that it could be beneficial for one’s health—but we know now that alcohol ingestion is one of the modifiable risk factors for cancer.”

Pancreatic cancer, with a five-year survival rate of just 13%, claims thousands yearly, often due to late detection. “There are no effective early screening tools,” Dr. Robert Den, a radiation oncologist, noted in a related Fox News report, highlighting the disease’s deadliness.

The study’s findings, however, stand firm, aligning with global health warnings.

“Even light drinking … really, there’s no benefit, and in fact, there may be harm,” Dr. Brian P. Lee, a liver specialist at Keck Medicine, told CNN in January 2025.

As the Surgeon General pushes for cancer risk labels on alcohol, the beverage industry’s silence—speaks volumes.

With 70% of Americans consuming alcohol, the IARC study is a wake-up call. “Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases and 20,000 deaths annually in the United States,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a January advisory. For now, the choice to drink carries a heavier weight, as science uncovers risks once brushed aside.

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