Should Australia authorize cancer warnings for alcoholic beverages?

Alcohol causes huge damage in Australia, responsible for 5,800 new cases of cancer per year. However, many of us remain in the murky about health threats.

In January Recommended warnings for the risk of alcohol cancer It should be displayed on the packaging of drinks.

These messages have already been mandatory in Ireland and South Korea.

Are they working? And should we order them here?

Is a glass of wine or two good for me?

Most of us know that ponderous drinking is unhealthy.

However, the belief that several glasses of wine helps protect against heart disease and other conditions. It still Evidence in recent years Showing the benefits have been discounted and the damage was insufficient.

In fact, Every level of alcohol The apply increases the risk of several types of cancer, including colorectal cancer (affecting the stout intestine and rectum) and breast cancer.

In recent years The evidence strengthened the show of alcohol plays a clear, causal role that increases the risk of cancer and other grave health problems, as well Mortality for any reason.

One examination estimated How many novel cases of cancer will develop throughout their lives 18.8 million Australian adults who lived in 2016. It predicted that a quarter of a quarter of a million (249,700) novel cancers – mainly the enormous intestine – will be created due to alcohol.

We know what causes this damage. For example, acetaldehyde – chemicals produced by the body when processing alcohol – it is carcinogenic.

Alcohol also increases the risk of cancer by “oxidative stress“, Lack of balance in body antioxidants and free radicals that cause DNA and inflammation damage.

It can also affect Hormone levelsWhich in particular increases the risk of breast cancer.

Australians unaware of the risk

While the damage is well known to researchers, many Australians remain unaware.

Numbers differ, but At best, only 59% of us Know the direct relationship between alcohol and cancer (and in the worst Only one in five They are aware of).

Perhaps the best proof of this message did not sink in our constant affair with alcohol.

In 2022–23 69% of us drank alcohol, with one in three Such behavior at levels recognized as risky by the National Health and Medical Research Council. This means that for men and women it means Equipped with more than ten standard drinks a week or more than four in one day.

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Read more: Little mother’s midfielder: Interviews with Australian women show a elaborate relationship with alcohol

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What do other countries do?

Like AustraliaThe United States already has alcohol warnings against its influence on unborn children and a person’s ability to handle cars and machines.

General Surgeon USA wants additional clear warnings regarding the risk of cancer to be mandatory.

It follows Ireland, First country To order alcohol cancer labels. From 2026, the alcohol packaging will include the warning: “There is a direct relationship between alcohol and fatal cancers.”

Other countries, including Norway and Thailand, are also Apparently, cancer warning label test.

From 2017, alcohol producers in South Korea had to choose between three compulsory warning labels – of which two warn against the risk of cancer. However, they can choose a label that warns about the risk of alcohol dementiaIN impact AND Memory loss.

Will Australia follow him?

Australian health authorities are in favor of for warnings about cancer in the packaging of drinks Within a decade.

Currently, whether to take into account the warnings about the general threats to alcohol health is at its own discretion.

Many apply unclear messages or “drink” templates provided by Drinkise, organization financed by the alcohol industry.

Pregnancy Warning labels (“Alcohol can cause a whole life for your child”) It has only become mandatory in 2023. Although this covers only one of the agreed health effects of alcohol, it is an essential precedent.

We now have a template how cancer and other health warnings can work.

Government with pregnancy labels He consulted with public health organs and the industry And he gave three -year transition period So that producers can adapt. We even have examples of color and formatting the required labels that can be customized.

Perhaps the most promising, Four out of five Australians surveyed support adding these warnings about cancer.

Did it work?

We know that existing warnings like a “drink” are not enough. Studies show that consumers find these messages ambiguous.

But would cancer warnings be improved? The rules of Ireland are still to come into force and it is too early to say how well South Korea policy worked well (there are also restrictions so that producers can choose a warning not related to cancer).

But process About cancer warnings in one Canadian liquor store said that they boost knowledge about the alcohol connection -10% among store customers.

Cancer news would probably boost risk awareness. But more – 2016 A test that tested cancer warnings In a group of 1680 adults in Australia, it was found that they effectively reduce people’s intentions.

The evidence suggests that a similar policy may repeat itself Success of cancer warnings on a cigarette packaging – first introduced for the first time in the seventies – in growing knowledge about risk and reducing consumption. Smoking indicators at Australian adults They were constantly falling because these warnings were first introduced.

It has been many years before Australia changes the rules of alcohol labeling.

In the meantime, it is essential to get acquainted with the current nation Guidelines for drinking low riskwhich are aimed at minimizing alcohol damage in various health conditions.