Bring on Big Booze’s spin doctors: Senator Brazeau
Tags
In November 2022, I introduced Bill S-254, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warning label on alcoholic beverages). This bill is necessary because of the direct causal link between alcohol consumption and the development of at least seven fatal cancers.
It is important that Canadians have accurate and current health information in relation to alcohol consumption in order to make informed decisions about their drinking. With barely one in four Canadians aware that they are exposing themselves to serious health risks, warning labels will make this information clear and accessible to all.
The bill requires that labels provide the following information to consumers:
- the volume of beverage that constitutes a standard drink
- the number of standard drinks in the package
- the number of standard drinks that should not be exceeded in order to avoid significant health risks
- a message setting out the direct causal link between alcohol consumption and the development of fatal cancers.
These technical requirements were worked out in consultation with experts at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria. The precise design specifications of the labels will be worked out in the regulatory process. The main thing is to get a serious national conversation going around alcohol and cancer and to get moving in a good direction.
Since introducing Bill S-254, we have received overwhelming support and encouragement from a wide variety of citizens and health organizations. The Canadian Cancer Society was one of the first to reach out, along with Queen’s University Health Board, Nova Scotia Health, Durham Region Medical Officer of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Dr. Fawaad Iqbal.
Other key organizations that support warning labels include the Canadian Medical Association and the World Health Organization.
I am hopeful that many senators will speak to Bill S-254 and give it the rigorous and thoughtful debate the topic deserves. Ideally, the bill will be sent to committee soon for more study and analysis. This will allow subject matter experts to testify and be questioned by senators who will study this matter in depth.
I am also aware of resistance to the bill.
None of it is unexpected.
The alcohol industry resists health warning labels just as the tobacco industry resisted. There is currently an emerging trade row between Ireland and Italy, for example, with Italy accusing Ireland of “attacking” it by requiring health warning labels.
With billions of dollars at stake, all manner of tactics will be deployed to prevent honest labelling. Understandably, no seller of a product wants to actively advertise that it is a Group 1 carcinogen.
Lobbyists are aggressively targeting Parliament. They are not above threatening legal action or co-opting online political movements to stop mandatory labelling. Should industry representatives agree to testify at the committee studying the bill, they will have to answer to Canadians and publicly defend their positions. No dark corners or boozy receptions are available in the committee room. Everything is brightly lit, fully televised and wonderfully transparent.
Bill S-254 is not an anti-industry initiative. It is an anti-cancer initiative. It is about providing Canadian consumers with the established, uncontroversial medical facts about the effect of the product on the human body. With their power and resources, industry should join this anti-cancer effort.
I will not be intimidated or back down because of industry bullying or political pressure. They might file a lawsuit or threaten to file one. So long as my health remains intact, I’m not going anywhere. On the contrary — I am very much looking forward to hearing what my colleagues have to say as they speak to S-254. Whether they are for or against, or have suggestions about improving the bill, their participation in the conversation is paramount.
People have differing appetites for reading clinical research. But for those who are interested in going a little deeper into the science, I would recommend two outstanding websites. They are the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
The Honourable Patrick Brazeau is a Quebec senator and a member of the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi.
This article was published in iPolitics on January 27, 2023.
In November 2022, I introduced Bill S-254, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warning label on alcoholic beverages). This bill is necessary because of the direct causal link between alcohol consumption and the development of at least seven fatal cancers.
It is important that Canadians have accurate and current health information in relation to alcohol consumption in order to make informed decisions about their drinking. With barely one in four Canadians aware that they are exposing themselves to serious health risks, warning labels will make this information clear and accessible to all.
The bill requires that labels provide the following information to consumers:
- the volume of beverage that constitutes a standard drink
- the number of standard drinks in the package
- the number of standard drinks that should not be exceeded in order to avoid significant health risks
- a message setting out the direct causal link between alcohol consumption and the development of fatal cancers.
These technical requirements were worked out in consultation with experts at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria. The precise design specifications of the labels will be worked out in the regulatory process. The main thing is to get a serious national conversation going around alcohol and cancer and to get moving in a good direction.
Since introducing Bill S-254, we have received overwhelming support and encouragement from a wide variety of citizens and health organizations. The Canadian Cancer Society was one of the first to reach out, along with Queen’s University Health Board, Nova Scotia Health, Durham Region Medical Officer of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and Dr. Fawaad Iqbal.
Other key organizations that support warning labels include the Canadian Medical Association and the World Health Organization.
I am hopeful that many senators will speak to Bill S-254 and give it the rigorous and thoughtful debate the topic deserves. Ideally, the bill will be sent to committee soon for more study and analysis. This will allow subject matter experts to testify and be questioned by senators who will study this matter in depth.
I am also aware of resistance to the bill.
None of it is unexpected.
The alcohol industry resists health warning labels just as the tobacco industry resisted. There is currently an emerging trade row between Ireland and Italy, for example, with Italy accusing Ireland of “attacking” it by requiring health warning labels.
With billions of dollars at stake, all manner of tactics will be deployed to prevent honest labelling. Understandably, no seller of a product wants to actively advertise that it is a Group 1 carcinogen.
Lobbyists are aggressively targeting Parliament. They are not above threatening legal action or co-opting online political movements to stop mandatory labelling. Should industry representatives agree to testify at the committee studying the bill, they will have to answer to Canadians and publicly defend their positions. No dark corners or boozy receptions are available in the committee room. Everything is brightly lit, fully televised and wonderfully transparent.
Bill S-254 is not an anti-industry initiative. It is an anti-cancer initiative. It is about providing Canadian consumers with the established, uncontroversial medical facts about the effect of the product on the human body. With their power and resources, industry should join this anti-cancer effort.
I will not be intimidated or back down because of industry bullying or political pressure. They might file a lawsuit or threaten to file one. So long as my health remains intact, I’m not going anywhere. On the contrary — I am very much looking forward to hearing what my colleagues have to say as they speak to S-254. Whether they are for or against, or have suggestions about improving the bill, their participation in the conversation is paramount.
People have differing appetites for reading clinical research. But for those who are interested in going a little deeper into the science, I would recommend two outstanding websites. They are the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
The Honourable Patrick Brazeau is a Quebec senator and a member of the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi.
This article was published in iPolitics on January 27, 2023.