AAI: Plan to defer alcohol health labels is disappointing

RTÉ News​

16-07-2025

The deferral of plans to require health labelling on alcoholic drinks is very disappointing, Chairperson of Alcohol Action Ireland has said.
The labels, which were due to come in to effect next year, are set to be pushed back to 2029.
Public health officials have previously spoken in favour of the labelling, saying that it would reduce alcohol use and increase awareness of the associated risks.
Professor Frank Murray, who is also a gastroenterologist, described alcohol as "a very harmful product", adding that it causes "many risks to people's health as well as other aspects of their lives".
He said the proposed labels on alcohol products would see nutritional information on the products and would also provide health warnings around cancer, the risk of liver disease and the fact that there is no safe limit of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
"The reason this is so important is because people don't know those risks," he said.
He cited a recent Health Service Executive survey that found that less than four-in-ten people understand that there is a risk of cancer associated with alcohol consumption.
"They're the only products you can buy in the food and beverage sector that don't have basic nutrition information", he said.
He added: "Unfortunately, the risk of alcohol consumption in terms of cancer, for instance, begins at very low levels of alcohol consumption, particularly breast cancer.
"Again, most people don't know that I'm afraid."
Professor Murray said most people drink way above the low-risk alcohol limits, adding that even those low-risk limits in Ireland are outdated and far too high.
"But if we drank to those low-risk limits, we would drink approximately one-third less alcohol than we consume currently," he said.
"So people don't, I would argue, know what the risks are," he added.
The Chairperson of Alcohol Action Ireland said "there is a real risk to people that people don't perceive associated with alcohol".
"These labels are to do with giving information to citizens and to consumers," he said.
Surveys, he said, that "these labels were considered to be relevant and acceptable".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Murray said he thinks the industry "is driving the agenda".
The cost of labels, he said, is very small, adding putting "small labels on bottles is a tiny cost to a highly, highly profitable industry".
"The labels actually are small and inexpensive to implement," he added.
Professor Murray said every other product that can be purchased in a supermarket "has nutritional information on it and all those other companies have had to do that".
He said it is "ridiculous" that there is an exemption for products containing alcohol.
He said if you look at the measures to reduce harms from alcohol, "those public health measures are very inexpensive to implement and reap a huge reward in terms of the economic gain for the country".
In relation to the cost to the drinks industry, Mr Murray said there is no impact of these labels at all on exports or tariffs.
"This is to do with labeling products within our own jurisdiction," he said.
He said that many companies already have health warning labels complying with this legislation because companies have been anticipating it being imposed.
Professor Murray said: "In terms of delay and why we're so bitterly disappointed the Public Health Alcohol Act was passed in 2018 and it's 2025.
"We've already had an inordinate delay.
The time to do it, I think is now and I would urge the Taoiseach and I would urge the Cabinet to reconsider, to reconsider and not to delay these labels.
It's critically important."