Ireland will be the first country in the world to place labels on alcohol bottles warning about the risk of causing cancer, along with other health information
The labels will warn about the risk of consuming alcohol during pregnancy and of liver diseases and fatal cancers associated with consumption, as well as provide calorie information, stated the government in a statement. They will be implemented within three years, by May 2026.
"Packaging of other food and beverages already contains health information and, where applicable, health warnings," said Ireland's Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly, in a statement. "This law is aligning alcoholic products with that."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mild to moderate levels of alcohol consumption caused nearly 23,000 new cancer cases in 2017, half of which were female breast cancers.
In 2020, alcohol consumption was linked to 7,000 new cancer cases in Canada, including 24% of breast cancer cases, 20% of colon cancers, 15% of rectal cancers, and 13% of oral and liver cancers, according to a global study published in the Lancet Oncology journal.