• Delay in enactment of labelling provisions of Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 set to continue until 2028 at earliest
• ‘We are seeing health being ignored in favour of corporate interests and profiteering’

The President of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has today warned the Government’s decision to delay the planned rollout of alcohol health information labelling until 2028 at the earliest is a “serious threat to public health”. She added that the delay places corporate interests ahead of the health and wellbeing of Irish people.

Dr. Anne Dee, a Consultant in Public Health, said: “With this delay, we are seeing health being ignored in favour of corporate interests and profiteering. It will result in preventable incidences of cancer, increased incidences of liver disease, and harm to children because of a refusal to fully enact a bill signed into law seven years ago.”

Dr. Dee said the labelling provisions under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 are a critical tool in reducing alcohol-related harm, particularly when Ireland continues to experience worsening rates of liver disease, alcohol-related cancers, and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). An estimated 4.8% of babies born in Ireland suffer from FASD, which represents the third-highest incidence rate of the disorder in the world.

“This is about giving people the basic information that alcohol causes cancer, liver damage, and harm during pregnancy. These are irrefutable facts. There is no excuse for keeping them off the label,” she said. “The longer this Government delays, the more irreversible damage is done.”

Dr. Dee criticised the influence of vested interests in opposing the measure. “We welcome the fact that the Government recently reiterated its refusal to meet with representatives of the tobacco industry in keeping with Ireland’s obligations under international frameworks that recognise health-harming industries. But why is the alcohol industry, which produces a substance that results in the deaths of up to 1,500 people in Ireland every year, treated differently?”

Dr. Dee also noted the inconsistency in Government’s public health messaging. “The Government believes in empowering people to make healthier choices, yet we are withholding the very information that would allow them to do so. This delay shows a lack of courage and clarity when it comes to confronting the alcohol industry’s influence, and an inability to act on the commercial determinants of health.”

Dr. Dee reiterated that the full implementation of all measures in the Public Health (Alcohol) Act must happen without any further delay.