United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a warning to Americans on Friday about the link between alcohol and cancer.

Murthy’s advisory outlines the direct link between the beverage and increased cancer risk, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The news release continued:

The Surgeon General’s Advisory includes a series of recommendations to increase awareness to help minimize alcohol-related cancer cases and deaths, including updating the existing Surgeon General’s health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages.

“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 – greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. – yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm.”

The press release also stated that the “direct link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk is well-established for at least seven types of cancer including cancers of the breast, colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx),” regardless of the type of alcohol a person drinks.

The surgeon general now wants an update on the health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages to include these cancer risks, among other recommendations.

Murthy made his announcement in social media posts on Friday. One post showed an infographic of where cancers can potentially appear in a person’s body:

Meanwhile, the Associated Press (AP) noted that “Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.S. Congress.”

The report highlighted the fact that beer, wine, and liquor bottles already have warning labels telling pregnant women not to drink and that drinking alcohol can impair a person’s ability to drive a vehicle.

During an interview on Friday with ABC 7, WebMD Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Whyte said Murthy was essentially pointing out the premise that alcohol is a carcinogen. Whyte added that approximately 40 percent of Americans know alcohol can increase a person’s risk for cancer:

“He really establishes that we don’t know what amount of alcohol is safe,” Whyte said of Murthy.