Alcohol Warning Labels Need Updating Researchers Say

The current labeling has not changed for 30 years and focuses only on the risks during pregnancy and with the operation of machinery, with a vague statement that alcohol “may cause health problems”. This is “so underestimated it borders on being misleading,” the researchers say. Science has moved on and there is now solid evidence of harm. Alcohol is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a group 1 carcinogen and has been linked to an increased risk of many cancers. It has also been linked to a wide range of diseases, from liver disease to pancreatitis and certain types of heart disease. However, the public is largely unaware of the more serious health risks associated with drinking, they point out. “We believe Americans deserve the opportunity to make well-informed decisions about alcohol consumption,” said Anna H. Grummon, PhD, of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and Marissa G. Hall, PhD, of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “The design and adoption of new alcohol warning labels should therefore be a research and policy priority,” they said. The two researchers presented their arguments in The New England Journal of Medicine. “Alcohol consumption and related harms are reaching a crisis point in the United States,” they noted. It now accounts for more than 140,000 deaths annually in the US, according to the latest figures from the CDC. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with a 25% increase in alcohol-related deaths reported in 2020. New, well-designed alcohol warning labels are a common way to inform consumers and reduce alcohol-related harm, they suggest. What makes a good warning label? Warning labels are most effective when displayed prominently, when they include images of some type and when content is rotated to prevent a message from becoming “stale,” the researchers say. This worked well for cigarette packs, where this type of warning increased quit rates, compared to smaller warning labels with text only on the side of the pack. There is also some evidence that this type of labeling may work for alcohol. When large cancer risk warnings that included pictures were temporarily added to the front of alcohol containers in some stores in Canada’s Yukon, alcohol sales dropped from 6% to 10%, they point out. But pressure from the alcohol industry led to changes in the Yukon project, and while a general health warning remains, the label about increased cancer risk has been removed. Researchers say the alcohol industry is hindering efforts to educate the public. The industry spends more than $1 billion each year marketing its products in the U.S. The authors warn that unless the government gets involved, the alcohol industry has little reason to share the risks. And some companies are even linking their products to health campaigns, such as selling alcoholic beverages with a pink ribbon in October to promote fundraising efforts for breast cancer research, despite compelling evidence linking alcohol to higher risk breast cancer. Call to Congress for new labels This is not the first call for change to alcohol warning labels. Last year, several medical groups petitioned Congress for a new cancer warning label for all alcoholic beverages. The report was signed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Institute for Cancer Research and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, along with the American Public Health Association, the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Alcohol Justice and the US Alcohol Policy Alliance. They are asking for a label that would read: “WARNING: According to the Surgeon General, drinking alcoholic beverages can cause cancer, including breast and colon cancers.” But that report is still pending, said Melissa Maitin-Shepard, a policy expert at the American Institute for Cancer Research. In addition, the institute is “working to support the addition of a cancer warning label to alcoholic beverages through multiple channels,” he said. “Given the strong evidence linking alcohol use to at least six types of cancer – and the low awareness of the alcohol-cancer link – there is a huge need to educate the public about alcohol and cancer risk.” Noelle LoConte, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and lead author of the ASCO statement on alcohol and cancer risk, emphasized that there is no doubt that alcohol is a carcinogen, causing approximately 5% of all cancers. cancer. worldwide, and also that its use has increased during the pandemic. “Initiatives that raise awareness around this issue could help build more public support for policies that limit access to alcohol and thereby reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers,” he said. “In the ASCO Statement on Alcohol and Cancer, we recommend several key strategies to reduce high-risk drinking, including limiting youth access to alcohol, giving municipalities more control over the density of alcoholic beverages and outlets and increasing taxes on alcohol”. But he also had a bit of criticism for a point in the New England Journal of Medicine article. Shows a sample chart documenting stomach cancer as caused by alcohol. “But as of today, stomach cancer is not in the IARC [International Agency for Research on Cancer] list of alcohol-related cancers,” he said. “I think that brings up a critical point, that these warning labels need to contain scientifically proven facts.”

title: “Alcohol Warning Labels Need Updating Researchers Say Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-15” author: “Deborah Stockman”

The current labeling has not changed for 30 years and focuses only on the risks during pregnancy and with the operation of machinery, with a vague statement that alcohol “may cause health problems”. This is “so underestimated it borders on being misleading,” the researchers say. Science has moved on and there is now solid evidence of harm. Alcohol is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a group 1 carcinogen and has been linked to an increased risk of many cancers. It has also been linked to a wide range of diseases, from liver disease to pancreatitis and certain types of heart disease. However, the public is largely unaware of the more serious health risks associated with drinking, they point out. “We believe Americans deserve the opportunity to make well-informed decisions about alcohol consumption,” said Anna H. Grummon, PhD, of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and Marissa G. Hall, PhD, of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “The design and adoption of new alcohol warning labels should therefore be a research and policy priority,” they said. The two researchers presented their arguments in The New England Journal of Medicine. “Alcohol consumption and related harms are reaching a crisis point in the United States,” they noted. It now accounts for more than 140,000 deaths annually in the US, according to the latest figures from the CDC. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with a 25% increase in alcohol-related deaths reported in 2020. New, well-designed alcohol warning labels are a common way to inform consumers and reduce alcohol-related harm, they suggest. What makes a good warning label? Warning labels are most effective when displayed prominently, when they include images of some type and when content is rotated to prevent a message from becoming “stale,” the researchers say. This worked well for cigarette packs, where this type of warning increased quit rates, compared to smaller warning labels with text only on the side of the pack. There is also some evidence that this type of labeling may work for alcohol. When large cancer risk warnings that included pictures were temporarily added to the front of alcohol containers in some stores in Canada’s Yukon, alcohol sales dropped from 6% to 10%, they point out. But pressure from the alcohol industry led to changes in the Yukon project, and while a general health warning remains, the label about increased cancer risk has been removed. Researchers say the alcohol industry is hindering efforts to educate the public. The industry spends more than $1 billion each year marketing its products in the U.S. The authors warn that unless the government gets involved, the alcohol industry has little reason to share the risks. And some companies are even linking their products to health campaigns, such as selling alcoholic beverages with a pink ribbon in October to promote fundraising efforts for breast cancer research, despite compelling evidence linking alcohol to higher risk breast cancer. Call to Congress for new labels This is not the first call for change to alcohol warning labels. Last year, several medical groups petitioned Congress for a new cancer warning label for all alcoholic beverages. The report was signed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Institute for Cancer Research and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, along with the American Public Health Association, the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Alcohol Justice and the US Alcohol Policy Alliance. They are asking for a label that would read: “WARNING: According to the Surgeon General, drinking alcoholic beverages can cause cancer, including breast and colon cancers.” But that report is still pending, said Melissa Maitin-Shepard, a policy expert at the American Institute for Cancer Research. In addition, the institute is “working to support the addition of a cancer warning label to alcoholic beverages through multiple channels,” he said. “Given the strong evidence linking alcohol use to at least six types of cancer – and the low awareness of the alcohol-cancer link – there is a huge need to educate the public about alcohol and cancer risk.” Noelle LoConte, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and lead author of the ASCO statement on alcohol and cancer risk, emphasized that there is no doubt that alcohol is a carcinogen, causing approximately 5% of all cancers. cancer. worldwide, and also that its use has increased during the pandemic. “Initiatives that raise awareness around this issue could help build more public support for policies that limit access to alcohol and thereby reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers,” he said. “In the ASCO Statement on Alcohol and Cancer, we recommend several key strategies to reduce high-risk drinking, including limiting youth access to alcohol, giving municipalities more control over the density of alcoholic beverages and outlets and increasing taxes on alcohol”. But he also had a bit of criticism for a point in the New England Journal of Medicine article. Shows a sample chart documenting stomach cancer as caused by alcohol. “But as of today, stomach cancer is not in the IARC [International Agency for Research on Cancer] list of alcohol-related cancers,” he said. “I think that brings up a critical point, that these warning labels need to contain scientifically proven facts.”