European Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged place warnings about the risks of cancer on alcohol drink labels, stressing that this is an “urgent need” to increase consumer awareness.
According to the WHO, alcohol causes about 800,000 deaths every year in the European region, whose inhabitants consume the most alcohol-containing beverages in the world. The organization’s report shows that public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer remains low.
A survey in 14 countries showed that only 15% of respondents are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, and 39% are informed about its effect on the development of malignant tumors of the colon. The WHO emphasizes that these types of cancer have the highest share among oncological diseases caused by alcohol consumption in the EU.
Currently, warning labels on alcoholic beverages are used only in 3 of the 27 EU countries and in 13 of the 53 member states of the WHO European Region. The study confirms that labeling alcohol with cancer risks significantly increases public awareness. Compared to other types of information, such warnings are more likely to stimulate discussions about the harms of alcohol and may reduce the level of alcohol consumption.
