An unprecedented coalition of doctors, charities, and public health experts is advocating for explicit warnings on alcohol products about the cancer risks associated with consumption. The call to action aims to enhance public understanding of the link between alcohol and cancer, a connection that is reportedly poorly recognized in the UK, where alcohol is linked to seven types of cancer, resulting in approximately 17,000 cancer cases annually.
Numerous medical and health organizations have written to Keir Starmer, urging him to mandate alcohol producers to include such warnings on their products. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), which orchestrated the letter, insists that these labels should be “bold and unambiguous” to effectively convey the health risks, as opposed to the current vague advisories like “consume in moderation.”
Kate Oldridge-Turner, WCRF’s head of policy and public affairs, emphasized that alcohol warning labels would empower individuals by clarifying the associated risks, thus enabling informed decision-making.
Charities such as the WCRF and Cancer Research UK assert that alcohol consumption increases the risk for breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver, and mouth cancers.
Ireland is set to become the first nation globally to implement cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages as of next
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/21/alcohol-cancer-risks-warning-labels-charities-say
