Since health warning labels first appeared in the U.S. in the 1960s, tobacco consumption has dropped by a remarkable 73%—from 42.6% in 1965 to 11.6% in 2022.

He’s done research around warning labels for tobacco products and points out that over 130 countries now have what are called “pictorial warnings” on labels for cigarettes.

A 2019 study estimated that warning labels on sugary beverages alone could reduce obesity prevalence among adults in the United States by 3.1 percentage points in five years.

But alcohol directly contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, said. He called for updating the labels to include a heightened ...