ECO Urges MEPs to Ensure Consumers Receive Information About Alcohol Health Risks
The European Cancer Organisation has written to all Members of the European Parliament reminding them of their responsibilities in safeguarding public health and preventing cancer. Specifically, ECO is urging Parliamentarians to ensure that proposed measures to increase citizen awareness of the health risks of alcohol consumption proceed without blockage by the Parliament.
On Tuesday 15 February and Wednesday 16 February all members of the European Parliament will vote on whether to endorse the position and recommendations developed by the Parliament’s Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA). The BECA report outlines a range of strong recommendations across many areas, including on cancer prevention.
On alcohol specifically, the BECA report:
- Recalls that ethanol and acetaldehyde from the metabolism of ethanol in alcoholic beverages are internationally classified as carcinogenic to humans;
- Notes that in Europe an estimated 10% of all cancer cases in men and 3% of all cancer cases in women are attributable to alcohol consumption;1
- Recalls that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for many different cancers, such as oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectal and female breast cancer;2
- Emphasises that international studies have indicated that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer prevention;3
- Recommends that labelling of alcohol beverages include health warnings.
However, under the influence of strong lobbying by the alcohol industry, more than a hundred MEPs have indicated support for amendments to weaken the Parliament’s position and to remove recommendations for health warnings on the labelling of alcohol beverages.
The European Cancer Organisation’s communication to MEPs emphasises what a mistake it would be to miss the opportunity of increasing citizen awareness about the dangers of alcohol consumption, and urges MEPs to put the needs of citizens first.
Speaking ahead of the Parliament’s vote, Prof Andreas Charalambous, President of the European Cancer Organisation, said:
“I am concerned that, as a result of alcohol industry lobbying, a misunderstanding has arisen that there is such a thing as non-harmful consumption of alcohol. This is not the case and systematic evidence has demonstrated this. As an example, low levels of alcohol consumption, defined as less than two drinks a day, caused ¼ of all alcohol related breast cancer cases in Europe in 2018.4 We have to be truly committed in cancer prevention. This can be achieved by making decisions informed by scientific evidence.”
Supporting these remarks, Dr Isabel Rubio, Co-Chair of the European Cancer Organisation’s Prevention, Early Detection and Screening Network, said:
“As a breast cancer specialist, I can speak to the strong evidence of alcohol increasing the risk of cancer. This is one of the reasons that Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan proposes key actions to reduce cancer risk. I ask Members of the European Parliament to play their part in our shared fight against cancer. Allow consumers in all parts of Europe to have a fuller awareness of the health risks of alcohol consumption.”
Kathy Oliver, Co-Chair of the ECO Patient Advisory Committee, said:
“Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Cancer Mission are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make serious advances in both cancer prevention and cancer care. I urge MEPs to do the right thing and open the way for improved labelling of alcoholic beverages, including clear health warnings to consumers about risks. European citizens deserve and need to be informed about the connection between alcohol consumption and cancer.”
Notes
- The European Cancer Organisation is a not-for-profit federation of Member Societies working in cancer at a European level. We are dedicated to convening oncology professionals and patients to agree policy, advocate for positive change and speak up for the European cancer community. More information here.
- The European Parliament will meet to discuss its position on cancer policy at full plenary meetings on Tuesday 15 February and Wednesday 16 February. In particular, they will vote on the report of a special parliamentary committee on beating cancer that held hearings and crafted a report throughout 2021. More information here.
- However, under pressure from alcohol industry lobbying, amendments to that report are being table to weaken several areas of recommendation in respect to such issues as to remove proposals for health warnings on alcohol labelling. More information here.
- In response to these disappointing developments, the European Cancer Organisation issued the following communication to all Members of the European Parliament:
Dear Member of the European Parliament,
The European Cancer Organisation contacts you with urgency ahead of the European Parliament’s vote in Plenary next week to endorse and support the report of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA).
We have become aware that significant lobbying is being conducted to weaken, via plenary amendment, some the Report’s recommendations. This relates especially to the Committee’s recommendations on ensuring European consumers are better informed about the well-researched and evidenced link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk.
Substantial time was invested by all BECA MEPs to achieve consensus between party groups on improving risk communication about alcohol. This is well reflected within the December 2021 text agreement voted on by the Special Committee. The Report recommendations, to help increase consumer awareness about alcohol consumption and its association with cancer risk, is based on the best evidence of the World Health Organisation, and others.
- Alcohol consumption is a major preventable risk factor for cancer, which in 2020 accounted for an estimated 181,000 cases of cancer within Europe.[[i]
- Alcohol has been classified for decades as a Group 1 carcinogen (highest classification of causality of cancer) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).[ii]
- Global research indicates that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.[iii]
In this context, the proposed insertion of poorly defined qualifying terms such as “harmful consumption” into the text of the report, to dilute the strength of the Report’s recommendations, is insufficient and not in keeping with the connection between alcohol and cancer risk. Visible health warnings, alongside a full nutrition declaration and a list of ingredients, are the minimum levels of information that citizens should be able to see on the packaging of an alcohol product.
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, combined with the EU’s Research Mission on Cancer, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance the fight against cancer together. This includes stopping cancer from occurring in the first place. Weakening the recommendations of the BECA report on cancer prevention runs directly counter to this.
We ask you to vote in conscience next week and preserve the strength of the BECA report on cancer prevention.
Yours sincerely,
Andreas Charalambous, President, European Cancer Organisation (ECO)
Isabel Rubio, Co-Chair, ECO Prevention, Early Detection & Screening Network
Kathy Oliver, Co-Chair, ECO Patient Advisory Committee
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[i] Rumgay, H. et al., 2021. European burden of cancer in 2020 attributable to alcohol use. European Journal of Public Health, vol. 31, suppl. 3. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/31/Supplement_3/ckab164.857/6405090?login=true
[ii] IARC, 1988. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 44. Available from: https://publications.iarc.fr/62
[iii] Burton, R. and Sheron, N., 2018. No level of alcohol consumption improves health. Lancet, vol. 392, n. 10152, pp. 987-988. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(18)31571-X/fulltext
References
1 Scoccianti C., Cecchini M., Anderson A.S. et al., ‘European Code against Cancer 4th Edition: Alcohol drinking and cancer’, Cancer Epidemiol. 2016 Dec; 45: pp. 181-188
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4322512/
