HEALTH activists who believe even one alcoholic drink can cause cancer are lobbying MPs in Canberra today for limits on how much we consume and how much we pay for it.

If they're successful in branding alcohol a carcinogen it could lead to tough restrictions similar to those applied to tobacco, including warnings on labels and laws requiring plain packaging.

1.18pm Action on labelling was "not what the agenda of this group is on about today", said Todd Harper, chief executive of the Cancer Council of Victoria.



"We do want to see a more comprehensive approach to alcohol, better education, better protection of kids from exposure to alcohol advertising.



"But price is critical."



Michael Moore, chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, said there was a distinction between the two cancer-causing agents.



"Tobacco is the only product that when used as directed kills half the people who use it. Alcohol doesn't fit into that category," Mr Moore said.



"Yes there are risks associated with the use of levels of alcohol and that has to be looked at carefully.



"But the reality is that it is a very different thing and we are starting down the process of getting government to recognise these issues, and that is part of the process."



There is support for warning labels on alcohol. One expert said there were nutritional guides on containers of orange juice, but add vodka and there is no requirement for a label.



There could also be calls for warnings of warnings to pregnant drinkers of the harm from alcohol

12.50pm It’s bad news for wine lovers - a leading health researcher has dismissed one of the cherished hopes of drinkers everywhere - that a couple of glasses a night is good for the heart.



Professor Tanya Chikritzhs, of the National Drug and Research Institute, says the health claims are based on flawed and biased research.



Dr Chikritzhs is among a group of health experts from the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol briefing MPs on the possibility of using higher taxes as a way of cutting dangerous alcohol consumption.



She says research showing a few sips of a decent red can warm the heart and keep it healthy is flawed, but acknowledges the science isn't settled on the issue.

My view...is that the so-called protective effect of alcohol on cardio-vascular disease, heart disease, has been over-stated. And the reason for that is because the underlying studies themselves, the epidemiology, is flawed, has been biased.

She says that some people who claimed to be worse off because they didn't drink were already suffering diseases - possibly because of past drinking.

What a lot of these studies do is when they define somebody who doesn't drink, an abstainer, who seems to be worse off for not drinking, in terms of heart disease, they include in those groups a whole bunch of people who were drinkers but stop drinking because they became unwell. Laughable, but it's extremely common for researchers to do that, not only for heart disease but for a whole range of other conditions that have recently have been reported to be protected by alcohol.

12.13am The cost of a standard drink will rise by $1 and the price of cask wine will more than double to $20 if the Government accepts tax hikes on alcohol recommended by health groups.



The proposed tax increases based on the alcohol content of drinks will be considered at the October tax summit.



Health Minister Nicola Roxon is backing a review of alcohol taxes, so long as it didn't result in such drinks, such as alcopops, becoming cheaper.



The National Alliance for Action on Alcohol, a group of health and community organisations, today in Canberra briefed MPs on moves in the tax system.



The plan was for a tiered system which could be adjusted to prevent prices going down.



It would target the cheapest drinks and the experts warned that “wine is dirt cheap''.

One industry spokesman warned:

Not the sort of stuff you drink in restaurants but the sort of stuff that's an invitation for kids and people with alcohol problems. That is so cheap now . That's got to be a priority.

The NAAA warned that every week an average of 60 Australians die and 1500 are hospitalised as a result of alcohol harm.

Not only are we drinking more, but the alcohol content of what we drink is increasing, from 11.2 per cent pure alcohol to 12.7 per cent in wine over the past two decades.





11.45am News.com.au has been inundated with reader comments, overwhelmingly against the idea of changes to alcohol labelling. Read more comments or add your own.

Whilst there could be many reasons to try to reduce consumption of alcohol, by irresponsible drinkers, it would seem that claiming that it is a cause of cancer is really clutching at straws. Overcooking (burning) of food can supposedly cause cancer too but will we stop people cooking food or eating because of that. - Graeme of Mordialloc Seriously, did anyone not see this coming. I always said that after cigarettes, the moral crusaders would be going after alcohol next. Oh, and for all you coffee drinkers....start getting nervous... - Jason of Brisbane I agree with the cigs but not with the alcohol! It should be up to the person drinking! Don't harm the Aussie way of life of a couple of beers with a friend without the bar tender saying you have had you one beer so you are not allowed any more! - Sophie of Shire I don't see why intelligent adults have to be punished because of the knuckleheads in society who can't hold their drink. - Sick of Wowsers of Perth

10.20am Over at The Punch, guest writer Charleen Sheshozzled has posted an angry response to the suggestion booze could be subject to similar packaging regulations as tobacco.

Booze is like it meakes you REALLY confident. It makes you better at talking to people in bars and stuff. Like, confident. So in bars and stuff I’m HEAPS more … you know. In bars.



9.19am Today's offensive on drinking problems, including limits on how much we consume and how much we pay for it, is being launched by the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAA), a group of health and community organisations formed in March last year.



The group has made clear its major objectives include limits on “all forms of alcohol marketing and promotions, including point-of-sale promotions, print and media advertising, packaging, labelling, sponsorship, viral and internet campaigns''.



On June 15, NAAA invited MPs to take part in a briefing to be held today in Parliament House on “the importance of pricing policies in reducing alcohol-related harms''.



“There is now a large body of evidence suggesting that price is an effective way to manage consumption and consequent harm,'' the invitation reads.



There are activists from among the NAAA groups who believe alcohol consumption causes more than just social disruption and the obvious health problems.



The Cancer Council of Australia argues even one drink is dangerous, a view similar to its position that even one cigarette can injure health.



“There is no evidence that there is a safe threshold of alcohol consumption for avoiding cancer, or that cancer risk varies between the type of alcohol beverage consumed,'' according to the Cancer Council position paper.



It estimates that 5 per cent of all cancer cases are caused by “long-term, chronic use of alcohol''.



That warning is shared by Michael Thorn, chief executive of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation.



“There's a growing body of evidence that there is harm attached to using alcohol. I think we've in denial if we don't think there are harms from even low level alcohol use,'' Mr Thorn said recently.



There is a continued medical debate over whether light alcohol use can cause cancer, with some authorities insisting the risk comes from high alcohol intake.



However, there is no serious conflict over the dangers of cigarette smoking.



The Government already has its health agenda dominated by legislation today aimed at forcing plain packaging of cigarettes, which are proven carcinogen.



Tobacco companies have said they’re ready to take court action should the legislation pass Parliament.

