Welcome back to "Pressing Matters."

A new report tonight from the U.S.

Surgeon General is shaking up the way Americans think about alcohol.

The findings, even moderate drinking may carry serious health risks, including an increased likelihood of cancer.

The conversation around alcohol is changing and it's happening everywhere from public health offices to local restaurants and bars.

Jamie Mankiewicz takes a look at why so many people are rethinking drinking.

- For centuries Alcohol has been woven into our lives for many reasons, from celebrations to daily rituals.

But new research is prompting many to rethink their drinking habits and what it could mean for their health.

- I think the most surprising finding was that actually an increase in cancers occurred with just what most Americans would consider minimal drinking.

Like less than two drinks a week.

Actually it was associated with increased risk of many different types of cancers.

- [Jamie] Those types include mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, breast in women, liver and colon and rectum cancer.

The report recommends no more than one drink per day for women and two for men.

But it also makes clear no amount of alcohol is truly safe.

- Alcohol changes the hormone levels and so especially estrogen and so can make you more likely to get breast cancer.

They think about four to five more women per 100 actually have breast cancer because of their alcohol intake.

That's a lot.

- [Jamie] But for people in recovery like Jessica Miller at the 1016 Recovery Network in Mt.

Pleasant, this isn't new information.

It's long overdue confirmation.

- So these are things that I think we were all hoping would have come out sooner.

And now that they're out and the Surgeon General puts it out, it's like, "Okay, yes.

There's some established reporting that people are gonna be listening to.

This is getting the attention and the traction that we want."

Because we've been looking at this research for years.

- [Jamie] But part of what makes drinking so dangerous experts say is how normalized it's become in everyday life.

- Oftentimes, it's really not seen as a drug at all, when really it is.

It is everywhere.

So although you don't need it, like you need food, the urge when you have an alcohol use disorder is that of which food or oxygen.

So to see it everywhere, that can be really hard for somebody who's trying to abstain from it, really hard.

And the societal pressure to blend in with friends.

- [Jamie] For Miller, this conversation is deeply personal.

She understands firsthand the challenges of cutting back in a culture that normalizes drinking.

- As a person in recovery myself, when I came into recovery, one of the things that I thought about is who's gonna wanna be my friend, right?

And it really was easy for me to not feel included and to prioritize my health and my recovery over that desire to want to belong to something.

I mean, it is really challenging.

- But change is brewing.

Across the country, bars and restaurants are embracing the shift, offering alcohol free options.

It's a response to growing demand from people who still want to enjoy a night out without the health risks.

- It's not like fly by night flash in the pan type deal.

I mean, this is...

It's here to stay.

So we take it pretty seriously.

- [Jamie] Wood Shop Social in Mt.

Pleasant now offers a full mocktail menu.

And it's not just for kids or people in recovery.

- We use a lot of fresh herbs and we use our own freshly squeezed juices and we make our own simple syrups and we've got a lot of different types of those.

We employ a lot of actual cooking techniques in our mocktails.

- There's definitely been shifts where I'm like, I made so many tropical fizzes, or I made so many basil mint limeades.

So yeah, no, there are nights where it's a good portion of our sales.

- [Jamie] With new awareness and more inclusive drink menus, a cultural shift is already underway and for many it's a welcome one.

- So it is creating spaces for people like myself that are in recovery to go and enjoy a night out without some of those pressures.

Happy hour doesn't have to include alcohol all the time.

I have hope for this generation coming up that they're really going to be the change in valuing their health and wellness and not feel that they need to drink.

- [Jamie] Experts say it's not just about drinking less, it's about making informed choices for long-term health.

With new research reshaping or understanding of alcohol, many are taking a second look at what's in their glass.

- [Jim] And then you're seeing a lot of people like my age, like me, like I told you earlier, I haven't had a drink in almost a year.

And it was just like I was kind of... Woke up one day and started weighing the pros and the cons of it and it was like, "Okay, I don't have any pros."

- I've definitely cut back a little bit on my drinking since dry January.

I did that.

Mocktails specifically are just really great because it just makes the social atmosphere of a restaurant more inclusive.

So the more the merrier I guess, right?