The government has taken a decision to delay the introduction of alcohol health information labelling, which had been scheduled for May next year, until 2028. The introduction of labels on alcohol products is part of Ireland’s Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018 is a policy response to the harms caused by alcohol in Ireland. Ireland has already introduced Minimum Unit Pricing as part of the act.
The introduction of labels on alcohol products is a way of increasing our awareness of how alcohol affects our health. Alcohol labelling is a key aspect of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act (2018), which aims to reduce population-level alcohol consumption and to minimise the amount of alcohol marketing children and young people are exposed to. Alcohol labels tell people the facts, that alcohol causes liver disease and cancer. They also have a pregnancy warning graphic, while giving basic nutritional information and the details of the HSE website www.askaboutalcohol.ie
The delay comes against the backdrop of intense opposition to labelling from the alcohol industry and concerns about the impact of such labels, with warnings from the Government’s trade forum that it could undermine Irish products on international markets.
Alcohol was first classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1988. It causes at least 7 types of cancer, including cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum, liver and breast. It is estimated that in Ireland in 2020 approximately 1000 cancer cases were attributable to alcohol. In 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.