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BackI will never drink again! This is the conclusion reached by many people who have had too much to drink over the holiday season and had to suffer the consequences. This is often followed by the resolution to abstain from alcohol for the whole of January. But "Dry January" is easier said than done, because alcohol is highly valued in our society. This is also due to the influence of the alcohol industry on legislation. Above all, however, political decision-makers should ensure that products are safe for consumers. This also includes ensuring that alcoholic beverages are reliably labelled. This was the subject of a recent event in the EU Parliament.
The event Alcohol Labelling - The Right to Know, organised by the European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare), was designed to draw the attention of EU policy makers to the issue. It took place during the European Awareness Week on Alcohol Related Harm and included a temporary exhibition in the EU Parliament. There, visitors were not only confronted with facts about alcohol-related harm but also informed about the current legal situation regarding the mandatory labelling of alcoholic beverages. The exhibition was opened by Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, MEP (S&D) and former EU Commissioner for Health. At the reception that followed, the co-organisers from United European Gastroenterology (UEG), the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Green Crescent, EuroHealthNet and the WHO Regional Office for Europe called for political action. In his speech, the President of Eurocare, Peter Rice, praised recent developments in Ireland, which became the first EU country to introduce comprehensive labelling for alcoholic beverages in 2023.
Sobering fact: Europe has an alcohol problem
Alcohol consumption is deeply rooted in Europe. In many European countries, alcohol is an integral part of social life and it is hard to imagine celebrations without it. However, this is also associated with health and social problems such as alcohol addiction and abuse. According to the WHO European Framework for Action on Alcohol, alcohol consumption is responsible for one in ten deaths in the European Region each year, totalling almost 1 million. Moreover, there is also a strong link between alcohol marketing and alcohol consumption, with young people being particularly at risk. In the Oslo Declaration, leading health organisations call on the Member States, among other things, to take action against the targeted marketing of alcohol products.
The importance attached to alcoholic beverages in some Member States is also reflected in the fact that there are precise geographical indications of origin which protect the reputation, a certain quality or other characteristics of these products (e.g. for wine). Export figures also show that alcohol is an economic factor in the EU that should not be underestimated: Between January 2024 and September 2024 alone, wine and wine-based products worth more than €12.6 billion, beer, cider and other beverages worth €8.3 billion and spirits and liqueurs worth €6.5 billion were exported from the EU. In all cases, the trade balance shows a clear surplus.
How strong is the political will to reduce alcohol-related harm?
As Eurocare state in their position paper on alcohol labelling, drinks manufacturers label their soft drinks correctly, i.e. indicate ingredients and nutritional values on the packaging. If a drink contains more than 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume, this information is missing. The reason for this is that alcoholic drinks above this level are exempt from the EU Regulation on Food Information for Consumers (FIC). This contradiction is also recognised by the EU Commission: In 2017 it concluded that it could find no objective reasons for the current exemption of alcoholic beverages from the labelling requirement. As part of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, which was adopted in February 2021, the Commission therefore proposed preventive measures to reduce cancer caused by harmful alcohol consumption and held out the prospect of revising the existing EU regulation. The plan was to present separate proposals for the introduction of mandatory labelling of ingredients on all alcoholic beverages by the end of 2022 and for health warnings on labels by the end of 2023. Neither has happened so far.
What ended up being adopted were digital labels, at least for wine. The regulation on wine labelling, which came into effect on 8 December 2023, includes the indication of calories on the bottle and the rest of the nutritional information for consumers to determine themselves via QR code. While digital labels can help facilitate the availability of product information, they are also subject to criticism, especially when they are intended to replace direct labelling on the packaging. Digital skills, internet access and mobile phone ownership are just some of the factors that can lead to consumers being excluded from the right to know.
Strong lobby. The major influence of the alcohol industry on legislation
The lobbying efforts of the alcohol industry should not be underestimated. A study on the influence of the alcohol industry on national health policy shows that more than half (55.2%) of the 212 submissions made by member states to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee on alcohol labelling initiatives by individual member states (including Thailand, Israel, Turkey, Mexico, India, Ireland and South Korea) were based on arguments put forward by the alcohol industry. According to the study, the alcohol lobby would argue against potentially effective measures, cast doubt on the harms of alcohol consumption and the effectiveness of various measures, and emphasise the benefits of "moderate consumption". In short, the alcohol lobby would place the responsibility solely on consumers.
It is not surprising that the alcohol industry is opposed to mandatory labelling of alcoholic beverages. However, in view of the health and social consequences of alcohol abuse, appropriate measures would be necessary. As the influence of the alcohol industry would massively hinder action against harms associated with alcohol consumption, some believe that an international framework similar to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which stipulates the exclusion of the tobacco industry from policy-making, would also be beneficial for action against the influence of the alcohol lobby on legislation.
Consumers have a right to know what's inside!
AK supports the mandatory labelling of alcoholic beverages and recognises the right of consumers to make informed decisions. Consumers must not be left in the dark and must be able to understand what their drinks contain at all times. AK therefore demands precise nutritional information on the front of all packaged foods, including alcoholic beverages.
Further information:
AK EUROPA: Better labelling requirements for EU food products
AK EUROPA: Better Food Information for better Health of Humans and the Planet
EU Commission: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
WHO: European Framework for Action on Alcohol 2022-2025
EASL: Policy Statement- Reducing Alcohol Harms 2023
Eurocare: Alcohol Labelling & Health Warnings
Oslo Declaration: Towards reducing alcohol harms
Health Research Board: Alcohol labelling: Evidence-based health policy in action
EU Parliament: Briefing on Alcohol Labelling