Alcohol has been deemed both dangerous and healthy in moderation, according to different research. Many people indulge in alcohol for celebrations or to unwind. Now some health officials want warnings on the bottles, and governments are moving forward with that request.

What You Need To Know

  • In the U.S., alcohol labels warn about use during pregnancy and driving risks; no new health warnings have been added since 1989

  • Nearly 750,000 cases of cancer diagnosed worldwide in 2020, or 4%, can be attributed to alcohol consumption, according to a new study from the World Health Organization (WHO)

  • In May 2026 in Ireland, bottles of alcohol will be required to say "There is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers."

There has been debate for years on the health advantages of moderate alcohol and the health damage it could cause. Now some countries are proposing a warning label on alcohol.

Like the warning label on cigarettes and despite opposition from the alcohol industry globally, Ireland will soon be the first country to warn drinkers of the links between cancer and any alcohol consumption on the drinks' labels. This will begin in May 2026; bottles of alcohol will be required to state on the label that "There is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers."

In 2020, alcohol accounted for more than 4% (equivalent to 740,000 new cases) of all global new cases of cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

"It's not just liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma, as what we talk about. It can cause cancer from your oral mucus membrane; our pharynx, your voice box, which is your larynx to your, I call it, food pipe which is your esophagus to your stomach to colorectal risk as well," said Dr. Harris Ahmed, the associate director of the Emergency Department at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Ahmed says health warning labels for alcohol help provide informed consent like health professionals do with medical decisions, noting some education and awareness are better than none.

For 20 years, a growing number of countries introduced warning labels to inform consumers about the health risks of alcohol. The WHO says 47 member states mandated health and safety warnings on alcohol. Those warning labels largely focused on issues such as underage or excessive drinking, drunk driving and drinking while pregnant — but didn't mention cancer.

Currently, in the U.S., alcohol labels warn about use during pregnancy, including the potential for birth defects, and risks with driving. But so far, efforts to change the label to include cancer are at a standstill. Alcohol labels have not had new health warnings here since 1989.