Stricter alcohol laws would hit non-alc brand extensions, Big Drop argues
Tighter regulation around alcohol labelling would negatively impact alcoholic brands and their 0% abv products, according to specialist UK non-alcoholic brewer Big Drop.
Speaking at the International Beer and Cider Strategies conference in Prague last week, Big Drop CEO Rob Fink said he was confident 'regulation and warnings on labels are coming' for alcoholic drinks, which could put pressure on sales of alcohol-free products.
'What happens when you're trying to sell a can of Corona, Guinness, Budweiser… Pilsner Urquell, and it's in a brown paper wrapper with a big picture of a diseased liver. It's quite hard to sell stuff with pictures like that," Fink said at the event in the Czech capital.
He added: 'Even if you can still market Guinness 0.0% as the non-alc beer of the premiership, if [the] Guinness alcoholic version is being sold in a brown paper wrapped can with a picture of a diseased liver on it, then good luck.'
In January, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory recommending that updates to alcoholic drinks labels to include warnings about the risks of cancer.
The document, titled Surgeon General's Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, addressed the 'direct link' between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of cancer.
According to the advisory, alcohol is the 'third leading preventable cause' of cancer in the US, after tobacco use and obesity.
'Now, whether or not we agree that that should be the case… This is the direction of travel,' added Fink. 'It is very rare that things are deregulated. It's very, very rare that markets have restrictions lifted on how they can sell, produce, market or advertise their products. This is the direction that we're going in.'
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization called for 'mandatory and standardised' health warning labels on alcoholic drinks in Europe to increase awareness of the links between alcohol consumption and cancer.
The organisation said a study conducted across 14 European countries found only 15% of people knew alcohol consumption was linked to breast cancer, while 39% were aware of its link to colon cancer.
At the time, WHO Europe regional director Dr Hans Henri Kluge said: 'Clear and prominent health warning labels on alcohol, which include a specific cancer warning are a cornerstone of the right to health, because they empower individuals with vital information to make informed choices about the harm alcoholic products can cause.
'Providing this information does not take anything away from consumers, on the contrary, it arms them with knowledge, and knowledge is power.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Nottingham Forest hope Nicolas Dominguez will recover from knee injury before start of new season
Nottingham Forest hope that Nico Dominguez will recover for the start of the new Premier League season after the midfielder suffered a knee injury. Dominguez has had to withdraw from international duty with Argentina because of the problem, which has seen him require treatment to repair a meniscus issue. Advertisement The 26-year-old established himself as a regular under Nuno Espirito Santo in the final stages of the campaign, as Forest secured European football for the first time in three decades. His form was enough to earn him a call-up for the World Cup qualifiers in Chile on June 6 and at home to Colombia on June 11. Dominguez last played for his country in a 0-0 draw with Brazil in November 2021, but will have to wait a little while longer for his next cap. Dominguez, who signed from Bologna in September 2023, made 23 starts and 11 substitute appearances in the top flight for Forest last season, as Forest pushed for a top-five finish – before ultimately finishing seventh, to secure a place in the Conference League next season. The player, who began his career at Velez Sarsfield in his home country, will be assessed in the coming weeks and throughout pre-season. But there is a hope that he could yet return for the start of the new campaign in August, if his recovery timeline goes positively.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
TikTok Bans #SkinnyTok After European Regulators Raise Concerns
TikTok has suspended search results for the hashtag #SkinnyTok, after facing pressure from European regulators, in the company's latest effort to counter criticism that the app fuels body image issues among young people. The company said on Tuesday that it 'blocked search results for #skinnytok since it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content,' but did not specify when it made the shift. SkinnyTok used to surface videos on the platform about extreme weight loss tactics, including restrictive eating. The change came after the European Commission probed the #SkinnyTok trend, after an April push from France's digital minister, citing concerns that TikTok was promoting extreme thinness and glamorizing anorexia. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, and apps like Meta's Instagram have long faced criticism that their algorithms, which identify and cater to users' interests, can inadvertently target vulnerable young women with videos and images that promote eating disorders and unhealthy body image. The apps have sought for years to block and redirect terms like 'thinspo' to mental health resources, but critics say that they have not done enough. The probe into #SkinnyTok emerged just over a year after European Union regulators opened an investigation into TikTok over potential breaches of online content rules aimed at protecting children. The investigation is ongoing. 'Superficially, at least, this is a positive move, especially given the quite harmful content that circulates on these sites,' said Brooke Erin Duffy, a professor of communication at Cornell University who studied the role of social media in work, culture and society. 'At the same time, users are savvy. They know how to work these platforms and how to evade their content moderation systems.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
3 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
The FDA Presents Its Case for Targeting Talc
Your editorial 'The FDA Takes a Trial-Lawyer Turn' (May 21) criticizes the Food and Drug Administration for convening an expert panel to explore whether talc is a potential carcinogen. You cite three studies that don't support that proposition but omit the 2019 review of 30 studies that found a strong association between talc and cancer. Last year the International Agency for Research on Cancer also found that the mineral is 'probably carcinogenic to humans,' citing strong mechanistic evidence. At a recent FDA expert panel, one pathologist reported that talc particles have been observed in cancer cells. For these reasons, talc has been removed from baby powder, but remarkably children continue to eat it in candy and other foods. Millions of Americans also consume it in medications. Talc is used as a lubricant that allows for easier mass production of pills, food and cosmetics. As one scientist informed our panel, safe, low-cost alternatives exist.
