Senate debates bill to require cancer warning labels on alcohol packaging

Senate debates bill to require cancer warning labels on alcohol packaging

Senator Patrick Brazeau is trying for the second time to pass legislation that would add cancer warning labels to alcohol packaging.

The Senate is studying Bill S-202, a revival of legislation Brazeau introduced in the previous Parliament. When the spring election was called the previous bill expired on the order paper.

Brazeau said his personal experience with alcohol is part of his effort for change.

He said, “It ruins lives. It kills people. It’s definitely not good for mental health. And personally, you know, it led me down a very, very, very dark path, so dark that I just wanted to end my life.”

He said he has also spent a lot of time raising money for cancer research since losing his mother to the disease in 2004.

Brazeau told a Senate committee on Thursday that alcohol is linked to seven deadly types of cancer, including liver, colon, breast and oral cancer.

The Canadian Cancer Society says drinking about three drinks a day can double the risk of developing cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus, and increase the risk of colorectal and breast cancer by one and a half times.

Brandon Purcell, prevention and early detection advocacy manager for the Canadian Cancer Society, said research shows more than half of Canadians don’t know about alcohol’s link to cancer.

“This is about Canadians’ right to know,” he said.

“We believe they deserve the same transparency and protections we have expected from tobacco for some time.”

A man wearing earrings looks at the camera smiling
Senator Patrick Brazeau is sponsoring another bill that changes alcohol advertising rules. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Jacob Shelley is an associate professor in law and health studies at Western University who is studying the use of warning labels. He said the law requires companies to warn consumers about the risks associated with their products, whether it’s airbags in cars or silica packets in shoeboxes.

He said, “What is surprising to me as a legal scholar is that the alcohol industry has somehow shirked its legal and moral responsibility to warn consumers.”

Shelley said that the wine industry is exceptionally powerful and alcohol use has become common. He said politicians and the legal community have shown a lack of willingness to push the industry to adopt warning labels.

“The lack of warnings really suggests to people, because it’s present in other products like cannabis and tobacco, that it might not be that bad,” he said.

Senators are expecting a blow to the industry

Brazeau told senators that Corona’s non-alcohol beer, called Sunbrew, carries a label warning people not to consume more than two per day because it has added vitamin D. He said it makes no sense that alcoholic beverages lack warning labels.

Brazeau told the committee he expected liquor companies to oppose the bill.

“The liquor industry and the lobby are only interested in one thing and that’s profit. They don’t care about the health or welfare of Canadians,” he said.

The proposed bill would also require clear labels stating what a standard drink is, the number of drinks per container and how many drinks Health Canada considers to be a health risk.

Shelley said advertising has long encouraged people to “drink responsibly”, but people are generally unaware of what that means and how much is too much.

According to the Cancer Society, a standard drink is five ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of spirits or 12 ounces of beer.

Brazeau said he sees cancer warning labels as just a first step, as alcohol has been linked to many other health problems.

He has sponsored another bill that would ban alcohol advertising.

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