(Alliance News) – Shares of Diageo PLC fell Friday after the U.S. surgeon general called for alcoholic beverage labels to include cancer warnings.
Shares in Guinness and whiskey owner Johnnie Walker fell 3.1% to 2,469.50 pence each in London on Friday afternoon. It was the worst performing stock on the FTSE 100, falling 0.1%.
In Europe, spirits and wine company Campari NV was down 3.6% at 5.88 euros in Milan. Pernod Ricard SA, the world’s second largest seller of wines and spirits, lost 3.0% to 105.40 euros in Paris.
The advisory from the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General describes scientific evidence of the link between alcohol consumption and increased risk of at least seven different types of cancer.
These are breast cancer (in women), colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, vocal tract cancer, liver cancer, oral cancer and throat cancer.
“Advisories are reserved for significant public health issues that require immediate national awareness and action,” the statement said.
The advisory states that approximately 5 in 100 women and 3 in 100 men would develop cancer from drinking two drinks per day.
“Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity,” the advisory said.
The notice says measures to reduce the number of alcohol-related cancers could include updating the existing health warning label on alcoholic beverages to include a warning about cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption.
Making label features more visible, more prominent and more effective in increasing awareness of the cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption could be one solution.
to raise awareness of the cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption.
“Health warning labels are well-established and effective approaches to raising awareness of health risks and encouraging behavior changes. Considerable evidence supports the use of health warning labels, including promising evidence regarding their role in raising awareness of the risks associated with alcohol.
The advisory suggests that recommended limits for alcohol consumption could be reassessed to take into account the latest data on alcohol consumption and cancer risk.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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