The warning on alcohol bottles is expected to become stronger. Currently, the bottles have the message that "excessive drinking is harmful to health." The National Assembly is discussing removing the word "excessive." This warns that drinking at all is bad for the body.
Although it is just a three-letter word, its impact seems substantial. If excessive drinking is harmful, then moderate drinking might be perceived as acceptable. Stating that drinking is harmful could lead people to be wary of the act of drinking itself.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says, "Even one drink is harmful to health, so a policy of abstinence is necessary." In contrast, the alcohol industry argues that while the conclusion is that smoking is completely harmful, opinions vary regarding the health effects of alcohol.
◇Strengthening warning notices proposed in the National Assembly
Ten members of the National Assembly, including Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed a revision of the National Health Promotion Act to strengthen warning messages on alcohol bottles last February. Article 8 of this law states that alcohol companies must label on bottles that "excessive drinking" is harmful to public health. It is also stated that the state and local governments should inform about this.
The revision suggests removing the word "excessive" from the warning. The warning should indicate that drinking itself is bad, not just excessive drinking. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, under WHO, has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen. It recommends avoiding alcohol altogether. There is a need to raise awareness about drinking in this situation.
Currently, alcohol companies are writing sentences on bottles such as "excessive drinking causes liver cancer and stomach cancer" or "excessive drinking leads to stroke, memory impairment, and dementia." This revision is currently under review by the welfare committee. If it passes through the National Assembly's plenary session and is implemented, alcohol companies will have to write messages like "drinking causes liver cancer and stomach cancer."
The trend is toward stricter warnings on alcohol bottles. Starting next year, alcohol companies will have to include warnings or images stating that drinking and driving is dangerous on their bottles. This amendment to the National Health Promotion Act, which includes such content, passed the National Assembly's plenary session last February and is set to take effect in March next year. There are discussions about displaying warning messages in eye-catching colors or using complementary colors. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official noted, "We have not yet decided what wording to use for the drinking and driving warning or how large the images should be."
◇Research on the effects of cholesterol and heart attack reduction
Cigarette packages contain strong warning images and messages because there is no disagreement on the fact that smoking is harmful to health. Even smoking just one cigarette allows nicotine to enter the bloodstream, raising blood pressure. Reducing nicotine in e-cigarettes does not make smoking harmless; harmful substances still exist, and individuals tend to smoke more frequently or inhale deeper in a compensatory manner to absorb the necessary nicotine.
The alcohol industry believes that alcohol should be considered acceptable as long as it is not excessive, unlike tobacco. In reality, there are various opinions about the health effects of alcohol. While excessive drinking is harmful, some research results suggest that moderate drinking can lower the risk of bad cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases.
In March, Japanese scientists published a study in the international journal "JAMA Network Open" that showed drinking reduces bad cholesterol levels. The research team analyzed health check-up results from 57,691 residents of Tokyo over 10 years.
According to the report titled "Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health" published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in the U.S., drinking increases the risk of breast cancer but can lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases when consumed moderately. Light drinking can reduce platelet aggregation and inhibit inflammation.
Major developed countries, such as the U.S., Switzerland, the U.K., Germany, France, and Italy, display warning messages on alcohol bottles. The messages warn that drinking alcohol during pregnancy or drinking and driving is dangerous. Thailand has promoted a measure that requires warning images about drinking risks to cover more than one-third of the alcohol bottle size. In contrast, Canada does not require alcohol companies to include warning messages on bottles. An industry spokesperson noted, "There is a social role of alcohol that needs careful discussion regarding the strengthening of warning messages."
References
JAMA Network Open (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0583
NASEM (2025), https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/28582/review-of-evidence-on-alcohol-and-health