Should cigarette-style warning labels be mandatory on all alcohol?

Should alcohol bottles contain cancer warning labels?

That controversial question was at the heart of a recent Senate debate over Bill S-202, which, if passed, would require liquor packaging in Canada to feature cigarette-style warnings.

The Canadian Cancer Society says consuming approximately three drinks per day could double the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus, and increase the risk of colorectal and breast cancer by one-and-a-half times.

But is that risk serious enough to warrant warning labels on all alcohol products?

Dan Malleck doesn’t think so. The chair of Health Sciences at Brock University, and a leading researcher on alcohol policy in Canada, says warning labels would “present a highly unbalanced and distorted understanding of the effects of alcohol on the human body and, more importantly, on human life.”

Malleck, who recently testified at the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, is our guest on tonight’s Closer Look podcast.

Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

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