From 2026, all alcoholic beverages, domestic and foreign as well as those available in retail outlets and in restaurants and pubs, are to be marked with deterrent warning stickers. The Irish government justifies this step with the effect of alcohol, which is cancer-promoting regardless of the type, quality, price and, above all, quantity of the drink.
In its argumentation, the Irish government repeats a common misconception that alcohol, regardless of the amount consumed, is cancer-promoting. The proposed regulation also demonizes an entire sector of the economy and leads to massive additional costs. The Irish plan is meeting with considerable resistance in various bodies.
Spiritsuisse, the association of the most important spirits producers and distributors in Switzerland, takes health protection very seriously and is committed to strict protection of minors and enjoyable and thus moderate alcohol consumption. However, the association rejects purely politically induced plans without appropriate scientific underpinning.
Should the enactment of such and similar extreme intentions and requirements become apparent in Switzerland, Spiritsuisse will resolutely oppose them.
