‘Alcohol can cause cancer’: Yukon adds warning labels to liquor

Warning labels on alcohol bottles have landed in the Yukon.

In a new initiative, the Yukon government has partnered with researchers to take on excessive alcohol consumption by warning drinkers that the substance can cause cancer — specifically colon and breast cancers.

The labels are bright yellow and red, and along with pictograms showing how many drinks are safe for human consumption. (FYI that’s two drinks a day for women and three drinks a day for men.) For the next eight months, people who buy their booze at the Whitehorse liquor store will have no choice but to see them.

2:12 New research links alcohol consumption to cancer

• New research links alcohol consumption to cancer
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It’s a world first — no other government puts labels on alcohol to warn for these types of cancers, though South Korea warns drinkers about the connection between liver cancer and alcohol consumption. No other province in Canada has labels to warn us of the health repercussions.

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“We’re inundated with alcohol marketing that makes it look fun and sexy, and yet only about 20 per cent of Canadians are aware that alcohol can increase your risk of cancer,” Erin Hobin, research scientist for Public Health Ontario and lead investigator for the project, told Global News.

She and her team are hoping to shift the drinking patterns away from what’s unhealthy.

Yukon was chosen for the testing because it has some of the highest rates of drinking in the country. Hobin said the provincial government has been extremely courageous to implement the never-before-used method.

“It’s also a great opportunity to greater understand if and how warning labels can increase awareness and knowledge,” Hobin explained.

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She says it could prompt a more comprehensive alcohol awareness program, one that could be similar to tobacco’s, which not only includes labels but also larger restrictions like bans etc.

“Around alcohol, we’ve sort of been silent about the health risks of alcohol, and the availability of alcohol is actually expanding in Canada instead of being restricted,” she explained.

She also thanked the Yukon government, calling them courageous for being the first in the world to tackle this issue.