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The European Parliament in Strasbourg has adopted a report of the Special Committee on Combating Cancer, according to which there is no safe consumption of alcohol. It thus adopts a position of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is preparing a worldwide programme against alcohol addiction. 652 MEPs voted in favour of the report, 15 against and 27 abstained.
The report now states, in a slightly weakened form, that the risk of cancer is "the lower the alcohol consumption". A direct reference to the WHO thesis, on the other hand, is contained in this wording: "The EU Parliament refers to the WHO study according to which the safest limit of alcohol consumption is no alcohol consumption when it comes to cancer prevention".
Previously, wine-growing states such as Italy had tabled several amendments to introduce the health-promoting aspects of the Mediterranean diet. However, they were rejected by the EU Parliament with mostly clear majorities. Only in one detail was the draft report slightly weakened: the word "alcohol consumption" was replaced in one paragraph by the more moderate term "harmful alcohol consumption". In a first statement, the Secretary General of the German Winegrowers' Association (DWV), Christian Schwörer, welcomed the nuance: "We welcome the adoption of the amended report. The adopted text now basically distinguishes between harmful and moderate consumption. It also recommends providing consumers with information on moderate and responsible alcohol consumption instead of promoting the use of unjustified health warnings," said Schwörer.
The EU Parliament's approval of the report could nevertheless massively affect the European wine industry. Because the demands to fight cancer are comprehensive and partly drastic. For instance, the report says: "The European Parliament advocates to reduce the harmful consumption of alcohol by at least ten percent by 2025." This includes "the planned revision of EU legislation on alcohol taxation and on the cross-border purchase of alcohol by private individuals, as well as a review of alcohol pricing, including consideration of increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages.".
In addition, the parliamentary report calls for comprehensive restrictions on online advertising: minors must be "protected, inter alia, in the digital environment from advertising messages targeted at alcohol consumption, as well as from product placements and sponsorship by alcohol brands". The report also calls for a strict ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to young people: The EU is called upon to "promote measures to reduce and prevent alcohol-related harm' which includes a European strategy for the complete abstinence from alcohol by minors, together with legislative proposals where appropriate".
As already expected by many experts, wine producers could soon also be obliged by the EU to display warnings on the label: "The EU Parliament supports the provision of better information to consumers by improving the labelling of alcoholic beverages through additional health warnings." However, the individual EU states are responsible for the political fulfilment of the demands.
(uka / photo: 123rf)
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