WHO Demands Urgent Alcohol Warning Labels in Europe

The World Health Organization highlights a worrying lack of awareness regarding alcohol's carcinogenic risks in Europe. Despite alcohol causing a significant number of deaths, only a small portion of the population connects it to cancer. WHO urges clear warning labels akin to those on tobacco products.

The World Health Organization has raised an alarm over the startling lack of awareness about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer across Europe. In a recent report, WHO emphasized the necessity for warning labels on alcoholic beverages akin to those on tobacco products, as only a fraction of the population recognizes the cancer risks associated with drinking.

The report underscores that despite cancer being the leading cause of alcohol-attributable deaths in the European Union, awareness of this connection remains dangerously low. The WHO insists on government-mandated warnings to confront the issue, moving beyond the self-regulation typically preferred by the alcohol industry.

The health organization stresses the importance of making health warnings visible and straightforward, recommending that labels include both text and images. This approach aims to empower consumers with the information necessary to make informed health choices and to counter the insufficient three out of 27 EU countries that currently implement such labels.

(With inputs from agencies.)