this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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Why Cancer Warning Labels for Alcohol Are Long Overdue (www.psychologytoday.com)
submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco and obesity. While 90 percent of Americans know tobacco causes cancer, fewer than half realize alcohol does as well. Like tobacco warnings, alcohol warning labels would help consumers make more informed health choices.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

While I'm in favor of adding a label, I don't think it would change much of anything. If you're really health conscious, you probably don't drink already and most other people would presumably say stuff like "everything causes cancer these days" or "my grandfather drinks daily and look how healthy he is".

If I remember correctly, even putting NSFW warning images on cigarettes didn't do much.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I'd much rather force manufacturers to use plain packaging (white label + black text in a standard font). Make it look as boring as possible with large warnings. Colors and branding have a very significant effect on sales - why else would labels have designs?

It will certainly also make it seem less normalized for children. Right now alcohol packaging is hardly distinct from some soft drinks.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Labels work, but they're not a cure-all.

Ask why police don't track the number of arrestees who are intoxicated. On the rare occasions (1998) it was tracked it was like 40%. And that's just alcohol.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Not only were health warnings self‐identified as an important source of health information about smoking, but also an effective means of communicating health information. The results provide evidence at both the individual and country‐level that health warnings on cigarette packages are strongly associated with health knowledge.

...

his pattern is best illustrated in the case of smokers' knowledge of impotence. Canada was the only country where packages carry warnings about impotence, and accordingly, Canadian smokers were almost three times more likely than smokers from the other three countries to believe that smoking causes impotence.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2593056/#sec14

Honestly, blah blah blah I don't think it would change much of anything blah blah blah is just really silly. The information is out there, why not look at it?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago

Fun fact: while all the other packages have gory images on them, the "smoking causes impotence" ones show a floppy cigarette

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I never questioned the effectiveness in terms of teaching the consumer. As I've said, I'm in favor of that and it's great.

However, people tend to continue their consumtion despite better knowledge. At least I remember this being the case with cigarettes. So it does almost nothing for the general health of your population. As others already mentioned, plain labels, a ban on marketing and similar actions are probably far more effective.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Provide evidence and I will read it.

I am not interested in baseless claims that may or may not be relevant.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You have conflated health labels on alcohol - the point of this thread - with graphic images on cigarette packages. An afterthought in the post I replied to.

I will not be wasting a second reading that.

Edit - also, please note, in your second reply in this mini-thread you claim you never questioned the effectiveness of health warnings, when this is exactly what you did in the post I replied to. You are a timewaster. Post evidence of your original assertion and I will read it.