Ireland is to force alcoholic drinks to carry cigarette-style health warnings about cancer and liver disease risks in a world first.
The country that brought the world Guinness and Jameson whiskey has introduced stricter rules in an effort to address what Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called the country’s “deeply problematic” relationship with drinking.
All alcohol sold in Ireland from May 2026 must carry warnings about the increased risk of health conditions that come with drinking. The caution will sit alongside information on calorie and alcohol content.
The new warnings go beyond current health labelling on beer and wine elsewhere in the world and more closely resemble cigarette health advisories.
Hildegarde Naughton, Ireland’s minister of state for public health, said: “Everyone has a right to be told about the risks associated with a product before we consume it.”
Mr Varadkar told The Rest is Politics podcast on Monday that Ireland had a “deeply problematic” relationship with alcohol.
He said: “I’m somebody who drinks by the way – and sometimes I drink too much. And it is a very powerful drug and we don’t acknowledge it as that.
alcohol industry is gonna increase the amount of scientists they fund to say alcohol is somehow good for various things lol
A great step. It would also be beneficial to regulate fast food advertisements.
Oh man, why can’t we just enjoy some things that happen to kill us. The focus must be happiness, not years on this planet. Nobody dies of cancer when drinking a bottle of wine a week. Everyone knows a bottle a day is bad for you.
Alcohol is my poison of choice, but if this will help, sure why not.
But not on soda?
Why don’t put on all food and drinks, the amout of sugar in soda is dangereous as much as it is alcohol, maybe even more because children drink soda.
Well one glass is good for iron absorption.
Aaaaaaah !
Fucking socialist nanny state.
You see, according to Varadkar’s plan I’m the enemy, ’cause I like to think; I like to read. I’m into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I’m the kind of guy likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder – “Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?” I WANT high cholesterol. I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green jello all over my body reading playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal? I’ve SEEN the future. Do you know what it is? It’s a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, singing.
Fuck off
It’s getting beyond a joke in IRL now everything is so restricted. Nanny state and it’s horrible, no variety in night life here either anymore. Our alcohol is already a lower percentage than the rest of the EU. And that lying traitor of a Taoiseach, Varadkar, is known to be a cocaine user so how rich of him to accuse the country of having a problem with alcohol. And anyway almost everything is illegal here so there’s not much to do but drink.
BTW I don’t drink alcohol myself but IRL has a huge problem with nimbyism and small anti-everything organisations and committees who have lots of funding and time to preach to the rest of us how to live. It’s sick, we can’t even have simple things like motor races motorbike sport events now because of legal obligations over insurance cover.
Corporate fascism is what it’s like.
It won’t stop me
I’m surprised countries with single payer or universal healthcare haven’t cracked down on alcohol or tobacco use a lot more.
It didn’t work with cigarets it won’t work with alcohol either.
I will say firstly that Ireland definitely does have a problem with drinking, something I’ve noticed in particular since moving from Ireland to Germany. But I don’t think what the Irish government has implemented so far like minimum pricing or what they’ll now introduce with these health warnings will help either. I do welcome a calorie count coming in though as that is at least helpful for those watching their diet.
Ireland’s problem with drinking is more cultural though, while I wouldn’t say Irish people drink more frequently compared to other nations, when they do drink a lot tend to binge drink. This along with a lack of social options that don’t involve drinking are the more prominent factors for me, so I’m not so sure health warnings will help. This seems to be more of a way to get drinkers out of supermarkets and spending their money in pubs.
For FxxK Sake… just leave me alone will yea !….
Convincing people to quit smoking/drinking with cancer is very hard nowadays. I believe if they have written “We rubbed every single cigarette of this package to our balls” (with some 90-year-old guy’s testicles pictures in the background) on the cigarette packages, it could be more effective to quit people smoking. I don’t know how you imply this to the alcohol though.
We should do this for sugar – modern processed food is full of it.
21 comments
***From The Telegraph’s Daniel Woolfson:***
Ireland is to force alcoholic drinks to carry cigarette-style health warnings about cancer and liver disease risks in a world first.
The country that brought the world Guinness and Jameson whiskey has introduced stricter rules in an effort to address what Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called the country’s “deeply problematic” relationship with drinking.
All alcohol sold in Ireland from May 2026 must carry warnings about the increased risk of health conditions that come with drinking. The caution will sit alongside information on calorie and alcohol content.
The new warnings go beyond current health labelling on beer and wine elsewhere in the world and more closely resemble cigarette health advisories.
Hildegarde Naughton, Ireland’s minister of state for public health, said: “Everyone has a right to be told about the risks associated with a product before we consume it.”
Mr Varadkar told The Rest is Politics podcast on Monday that Ireland had a “deeply problematic” relationship with alcohol.
He said: “I’m somebody who drinks by the way – and sometimes I drink too much. And it is a very powerful drug and we don’t acknowledge it as that.
**Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/05/22/ireland-to-put-cigarette-style-cancer-warnings-on-alcohol/**
Ireland?! Whats next Italia will ban pizza?
alcohol industry is gonna increase the amount of scientists they fund to say alcohol is somehow good for various things lol
A great step. It would also be beneficial to regulate fast food advertisements.
Oh man, why can’t we just enjoy some things that happen to kill us. The focus must be happiness, not years on this planet. Nobody dies of cancer when drinking a bottle of wine a week. Everyone knows a bottle a day is bad for you.
Alcohol is my poison of choice, but if this will help, sure why not.
But not on soda?
Why don’t put on all food and drinks, the amout of sugar in soda is dangereous as much as it is alcohol, maybe even more because children drink soda.
Well one glass is good for iron absorption.
Aaaaaaah !
Fucking socialist nanny state.
You see, according to Varadkar’s plan I’m the enemy, ’cause I like to think; I like to read. I’m into freedom of speech and freedom of choice. I’m the kind of guy likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder – “Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the jumbo rack of barbecued ribs with the side order of gravy fries?” I WANT high cholesterol. I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green jello all over my body reading playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal? I’ve SEEN the future. Do you know what it is? It’s a 47-year-old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas, drinking a banana-broccoli shake, singing.
Fuck off
It’s getting beyond a joke in IRL now everything is so restricted. Nanny state and it’s horrible, no variety in night life here either anymore. Our alcohol is already a lower percentage than the rest of the EU. And that lying traitor of a Taoiseach, Varadkar, is known to be a cocaine user so how rich of him to accuse the country of having a problem with alcohol. And anyway almost everything is illegal here so there’s not much to do but drink.
BTW I don’t drink alcohol myself but IRL has a huge problem with nimbyism and small anti-everything organisations and committees who have lots of funding and time to preach to the rest of us how to live. It’s sick, we can’t even have simple things like motor races motorbike sport events now because of legal obligations over insurance cover.
Corporate fascism is what it’s like.
It won’t stop me
I’m surprised countries with single payer or universal healthcare haven’t cracked down on alcohol or tobacco use a lot more.
It didn’t work with cigarets it won’t work with alcohol either.
I will say firstly that Ireland definitely does have a problem with drinking, something I’ve noticed in particular since moving from Ireland to Germany. But I don’t think what the Irish government has implemented so far like minimum pricing or what they’ll now introduce with these health warnings will help either. I do welcome a calorie count coming in though as that is at least helpful for those watching their diet.
Ireland’s problem with drinking is more cultural though, while I wouldn’t say Irish people drink more frequently compared to other nations, when they do drink a lot tend to binge drink. This along with a lack of social options that don’t involve drinking are the more prominent factors for me, so I’m not so sure health warnings will help. This seems to be more of a way to get drinkers out of supermarkets and spending their money in pubs.
For FxxK Sake… just leave me alone will yea !….
Convincing people to quit smoking/drinking with cancer is very hard nowadays. I believe if they have written “We rubbed every single cigarette of this package to our balls” (with some 90-year-old guy’s testicles pictures in the background) on the cigarette packages, it could be more effective to quit people smoking. I don’t know how you imply this to the alcohol though.
We should do this for sugar – modern processed food is full of it.
THAT WOULD BE AN ECUMENICAL MATTER!