Warning Labels on Alcohol Products May Help Discourage Drinking

A study of warning labels on alcohol products finds they may help discourage drinking, HealthDay reports.

Researchers at the Canadian Institute for Substance Research in Victoria, British Columbia, applied colorful, highly visible warning labels to 98% of alcohol containers in the largest liquor store in the Yukon. The region has Canada’s highest rate of alcohol use. After the labels were applied, the store’s per capita sales fell by 6.6% compared to stores where containers were not labeled, the researchers reported in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

“Warning labels help drinkers to be better informed about alcohol’s health risks and prompted many to cut down their drinking,” co-lead author Tim Stockwell said in a news release. “This is an especially vital public health intervention now, as we see people at risk of increasing their alcohol intake as they isolate at home during the COVID-19 outbreak.”