WHO calls on Europe to have tobacco-style warning labels for alcohol

Alcohol causes 800,000 deaths across Europe each year but just a fraction of the population is aware of the risks, the WHO's Europe office said.

The World Health Organization released new findings on Friday about an “alarming” lack of awareness about alcohol’s link to cancer across Europe and called for clear and prominent tobacco-style warnings in the region with the world’s heaviest drinkers.

The global health agency has repeatedly warned that alcohol causes cancer and has backed clear labeling but has never before been as prescriptive in its call for new government regulations.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Surgeon General also called for warnings of cancer risks on alcoholic drink labels.

Alcohol causes 800,000 deaths across Europe each year but just a fraction of the population is aware of the risks, the WHO’s Europe office said. Its study found that just 15 per cent of respondents knew that alcohol can cause breast cancer and 39 per cent were aware of its link to colon cancer.

“Despite cancer being the leading cause of alcohol-attributable deaths in the European Union (EU), public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer remains alarmingly low,” the WHO said.

Relying on self-regulation, as the industry would prefer, brings the risk that alcohol producers use “inconspicuous placement and ambiguous messaging” or use QR codes which tend to be ignored by shoppers, it said.

Instead, alcoholic drinks should display “clear and prominent health warnings” in written format which could be combined with pictures “to maximize reach and empower consumers with clear, accurate information to make informed choices about their health,” it said.

Pictograms and simple text-only messages can be just as effective as more graphic photographs, a spokesperson said when asked about the types of warnings.