New HSE research showing that only 38 per cent of people in Ireland are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer highlights the need for the government to proceed with alcohol health warning labels, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on health, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis latest research is extremely timely given recent indications that the government \u2013 and Fine Gael in particular \u2013 intend to backslide on this crucial element of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile only 38 per cent of people are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer, by contrast 76 per cent know that smoking causes cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year in Ireland there are approximately 1,000 alcohol-related cancer cases. Yet senior government ministers have signalled that alcohol labelling may be delayed due to the US tariff threats facing our economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a spurious argument given that health labelling will only apply to alcohol products sold in Ireland. For imports, and indeed home-produced products, the onus is on retailers to ensure products are labelled, not producers. A supermarket or off-licence can simply add a sticker to the product, so the potential impact on the drinks industry has been greatly overstated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than two decades ago, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin pushed through the smoking ban in the face of heavy opposition and lobbying from the tobacco industry, publicans and even some members of his own party.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should now show that same leadership and ensure that his government introduces alcohol labelling as planned in May 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut today, when I raised this with him in the D\u00e1il, he completely dodged the question. However, there is no dodging the facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, the HSE unequivocally stated that alcohol causes cancer. It is therefore counterintuitive for the government to be rowing back on this essential public health measure.\u201d<\/p>\n
July 8, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New HSE research showing that only 38 per cent of people in Ireland are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer highlights the need for the government to proceed with alcohol health warning labels, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on health, said: \u201cThis latest research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n