Ireland to label alcoholic drinks with detailed health warnings
Ireland | Coming into effect in May 2026, Ireland’s new alcohol labelling legislation will be the world’s first to force alcoholic drinks to carry cigarette-style health warnings about cancer and liver disease risks.
The World Health Organisation has applauded the move, whereas it has incensed some of Ireland’s trading partners and set up a clash at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Irish health minister, Stephen Donnelly, signed the legislation on 22 May, based on medical evidence that even low levels of alcohol consumption incurred a cancer risk, and said he looked forward to other countries following the example.
Many other countries include partial warnings, for example on drinking while pregnant, or alcohol’s link to cancer, but Ireland says none provide such wide-ranging information about the risks on the label.
Alcoholic drink providers will be compelled to display the information and warnings on product packaging and also to direct consumers to the website of Ireland’s Health Service Executive for further information on alcohol consumption. Similar information will also be made available in pubs and other licensed premises.
Alcohol consumption in Ireland peaked in 2001 when the average person drank 14.3 l of pure alcohol a year. That has fallen to 10.2 l, according to the Irish Health Research Board.
Health warning could distort free trade
The warnings will only be included on products on sale in Ireland, not on exports of Irish whiskey, Guinness, or other alcoholic drinks.
However, more than ten countries, including the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and Cuba, have already lodged complaints with the WTO and the move will be discussed at its next Technical Barriers to Trade committee meeting on 21 June, the Financial Times newspaper reports.
The European Commission did not object to Ireland’s plan, which the government flagged last year, despite protests from 13 EU member states, including Italy, Spain, and France, which argued that Ireland’s unilateral labelling flouts a planned harmonised EU-wide approach and could distort trade.
