The World Health Organization (WHO) wants the labels that warn of tumor risk on the bottles and alcohol cans. Thus we return to discuss the link between alcohol consumption and cancer, widely demonstrated by scientific studies and which, punctually, comes trivialized from the countries that have an important turnover through exports or internal consumption of alcohol.
Italy is one of these. Foreign minister Tajani and Coldiretti criticized the position of Ireland, or the first country in the EU to insert the famous alcohol labels. The health move is the same already tried with the cigarettes: make consumers more aware.
What does WHO says on alcohol? NOTICES ARE NEED
For the WHO the proposal is simple: to inform, indeed warnrisks. Cancer and alcohol are linkedon this there is no doubt. Scientific studies say this, starting from the 1988 confirmation of the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC). The conclusion was: lalcohol is carcinogenic (even if the EU Parliament has given reason to Italy). Since then, however, not much has changed and those who want to drink a glass of wine continues to do so, even with such awareness. So what’s the problem?
Over time, new and more in -depth studies have confirmed the data, but they also discovered further links between the consumption and the abuse of alcohol and some rather common types of tumors. This is the case, for example, of breast cancer. All new research has merged into a joint declaration by Iarc and WHO: “It is not possible to establish a safe amount of alcohol for consumption”.
Thus was born a bureaucratic and economic problem. Knowing the impact of certain Diseases caused by alcohol On the health service, there are no clear warnings of the consequences of consumption for people. Kate Oldridge-Tier, head of WHO policies and public affairs, has in fact reiterated how:
The labels of clear and clearly visible health warnings increase the awareness of consumers on the risks associated with alcohol consumption and should be a standard in Europe and worldwide.
In the United States we start talking about labels on bottles to warn alcohol consumers. Vivek Murtthy, head of the US healthcare up to the new name to be defined, agrees on the WHO proposal. In the country, in fact, alcohol is a well -known plague, responsible for About 100 thousand cases of cancerof which 20 thousand deaths and 13,500 cases of motorway accidents every year. The idea is to add written images and notices such as on cigarette packages.
How much is alcohol?
The sense of urgency expressed by the experts of the experts is confirmed by the data. According to the latest report of the American Association for Cancer Research, the impact of alcohol consumption on the incidence of tumors is 5.4%.
Specifically, the consumption of wine, beer or liqueurs increases the risk of cancer, such as the breast one (16.4% of these is attributable to alcohol) and beyond. There are at least 7 types of tumors closely related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages:
- breast cancer
- Color-Rettum tumor
- esophagus tumor
- liver cancer,
- mouth tumor (oral cavity),
- throat cancer (pharynx)
- larynx cancer
To develop one of these tumors, according to some studies, it would be enough to drink about one drink a day.
Clear and direct warning: the example of cigarettes
Hence the need to have at least one warning label for the consequences of consumption, just like cigarettes. Prohibition has never fruit, while awareness leaves power in the hands of consumers, who can independently decide what is best for them.
The previous one is there all right: the case of tabacco products. In 2009 the warnings on the causes of smoking began to appear on cigarettes. The results of the campaign to reduce or quit smoking are varied, vary from country to country, but also on the basis of age and the genre of the smoker. According to an American study, commented by John Pierce, a public health expert, the graphics on the packages had no effect on consumption.
According to this, the only direct consequence was to hide smoking or hiding the cigarette package because the chosen images were too explicit and were a source of shame.
And in Italy? In the Bel Paese, tobacco consumption is high: according to Istat data it involves about 19% of the total population. In numbers corresponds to about 10 million smokerswith data starting from very young consumers per age equal to or over 14 years of age. In 2021 Tobacco smoke was more widespread between 25 and 44 years old, about 1 in 4 person. In 2023 the study conducted by Istat showed a light increase, with 19.3% of the population that consumes daily products.
Overall, however, since the registration of data began, over the years there has been a decrease at national level (from 25% to about 19%) and regional. The trend sees a constant decrease in tobacco consumption between smokers, while data are growing among women.
Net of these data, it is right to remember that every year about 90 thousand deaths (out of a total of 630 thousand) are attributed to tobacco. In costs, for health, we talk about over 26 billion euros. In addition to the tumors listed above, tobacco consumption in Italy is the main cause of pathologies such as:
- chronic obstructive chronic bronchopneumopathies;
- chronic lung diseases;
- cardiopathies;
- Vasculopathies.
Alcohol label: the “hard” blow to Italian exports
At the first news of bottles labels, we started talking about “damage to the Italian economy”. While Ireland (but also Canada) will begin in the coming years to insert prevention notices, the attack on foreign decisions is practiced in Italy. The first to oppose was the foreign minister Antonio Tajani, who criticized the Irish law calling it “an attack on the Mediterranean diet”. Also Coldirettiwhich defends the activities of the agricultural and food sector, spoke of a dangerous precedent, capable of “putting Made in Italy wine exports at risk”.
Thus, at the end of 2022, 13 EU countries opposed the Irish proposal, labeling notices on bottles as a risk for free trade. The theme, not new, is that of the demonization of alcohol. But the point is not the image of a typical product of a country, as public health. The goal is not to limit the choice, but to insert notices such as:
- Alcohol consumption causes liver diseases
- Alcohol and mortal tumors are directly connected
These are the writings that Ireland can use, according to regulation. These are notices similar to those used by Canada in 2017, when the impact that the labels would have had on alcoholic products was tested. The result was one reduction of alcohol consumptionwith 7% decreased sales for several months.
Right grievances from Italy? The turnover of Italian wine only is of 14 billion euros (half of the value deriving from the sale abroad), but it is also good to know that every year the cost of the consumption of alcohol for public health is over 26 billion euros. At the moment, it remains difficult to believe that the WHO request will be taken into consideration by those who, already in 2022, criticized the choice of other countries.
