Cancer warnings for alcohol packaging being debated by Senate

A new bill introduced by Sen. Patrick Brazaeu proposes adding labels to warn Canadians of cancer risks associated with drinking.

OTTAWA — Sen. Patrick Brazeau is trying a 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 sponsored in the last Parliament. The previous bill died on the order paper when the spring election was called.

Brazeau, who has been sober for five years, said his personal experience with alcohol is part of what drives his push for change.

“It does ruin lives. It kills people. It’s certainly 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 put an end to my life,” he said.

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 Thursday that alcohol is linked to seven deadly types of cancer, including liver, colon, breast and oral cancers.

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

Brandon Purcell, the Canadian Cancer Society’s advocacy manager of prevention and early detection, said research shows more than half of Canadians are unaware of alcohol’s link to cancer.

“It’s about the right of Canadians to know,” he said.

“We believe they deserve the same transparency and protection that we’ve expected from tobacco for some time now.”

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

“What is astonishing to me as a legal scholar is that the alcohol industry has somehow circumvented their legal and moral responsibility to warn consumers,” he said.

Shelley said the alcohol industry is extraordinarily powerful and alcohol use has been normalized. He said politicians and the legal community have shown a lack of willingness to push the industry to adopt warning labels.

“The lack of a warning actually suggests to people, because other products like cannabis and tobacco have them, that it can’t be that bad,” he said.

Brazeau told senators that Corona’s non-alcoholic beer, called Sunbrew, carries a label warning people not to consume more than two per day because it has Vitamin D added to it. He said it doesn’t make sense that alcoholic beverages lack warning labels.

Brazeau told the committee he expects alcohol companies will oppose the bill.

“The alcohol industry and lobby are interested in one thing and one thing only, and that (is) profits. They do not care about the health or well-being of Canadians,” he said.

The proposed bill also would require clear labels stating what constitutes a standard drink, the number of drinks per container, and the number of drinks that Health Canada considers 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.

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

Brazeau said he sees the cancer warning label as only a first step, because alcohol is linked to many other health issues.

He has sponsored another bill that would prohibit the advertising of alcohol.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press