WHO calls on Europe to have tobacco-style warning labels for alcohol – National [Video]

The World Health Organization released new findings on Friday about an “alarming” lack of awareness about alcohol’s link to cancer across Europe and called for clear and prominent tobacco-style warnings in the region with the world’s heaviest drinkers.

The global health agency has repeatedly warned that alcohol causes cancer and has backed clear labeling but has never before been as prescriptive in its call for new government regulations.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Surgeon General also called for warnings of cancer risks on alcoholic drink labels.

Alcohol causes 800,000 deaths across Europe each year but just a fraction of the population is aware of the risks, the WHO’s Europe office said. Its study found that just 15 per cent of respondents knew that alcohol can cause breast cancer and 39 per cent were aware of its link to colon cancer.

“Despite cancer being the leading cause of alcohol-attributable deaths in the …