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The Print
2 days ago
- Health
- The Print
AIIMS researchers call for warning labels on alcohol like tobacco
The opinion piece by oncologists Dr Abhishek Shankar, Dr Vaibhav Sahni and Dr Deepak Saini from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, Delhi stated that adolescence forms a crucial period for the initiation and intensification of substance use behaviour, including alcohol. In an opinion piece titled 'Expanding behavioural interventions through cancer warning labels in India: from cigarette packs to alcohol bottles' published in Frontiers in Public Health on July 24, the doctors have highlighted that alcohol, like tobacco, is a proven carcinogen, yet awareness remains low. New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) Researchers at AIIMS have called for strong, evidence-based warning labels on alcohol products to prevent avoidable cancers, building on India's success with tobacco warnings. Behavioural interventions instituted by means of alcohol warning labels may prove to be effective in affecting positive changes in the consumption habits of individuals belonging to this age group, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where it is all the more important for certain sections of society to be educated and sensitised towards the consequences of substance use, the researchers said. They stated that cancer cases in India have seen a steep rise, with data from the 2012 to 2022 period suggesting a 36 per cent increase in incidence (1.01 million-1.38 million). GLOBOCAN 2022 data saw about 1.41 million new cancer cases in India with a five-year prevalence at around 3.25 million and a total cancer mortality at 916,827. Alcohol attributable a fraction for cancer and age-standardised rate per 100,000 in India are 4.7 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, according to the GLOBOCAN 2020 data. Data from 2016 suggested that 6.6 per cent of Disease Adjusted Life Years in India were attributable to alcohol consumption which followed that of tobacco at 10.9 per cent, the researchers said. The researchers also mentioned about the advisory brought out by the US surgeon general in January 2025 regarding the consumption of alcohol and the risk of cancer, which stated that alcohol consumption demonstrably elevates the risk for developing at a minimum, seven types of cancer (colon/rectum, liver, breast, esophagus, larynx, pharynx and oral cavity). The advisory also mentioned the mechanistic links between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing cancer along with the fact that this effect is observable regardless of gender. Even before the release of this advisory, alcohol-attributable cancers have been recognised to contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, the researchers said. Cancer warning labels on alcohol containers have been observed to be of benefit in reducing alcohol consumption and lowering the perception of consumption, they said. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2016-17 noted an increase by 16 per cent for health warnings on cigarette packs, with pictorial health warnings demonstrating a 50 per cent elevated impact on the intention to quit smoking cigarettes. Warnings can be differentiated based on the type of messaging involved into loss-framed and gain-framed which have an emphasis on associated risks/harms and the benefits of quitting, respectively, the researchers explained. There is evidence in literature to suggest that gain-framed messaging possesses an advantage over loss-framed warnings but the research on such aspects has mainly focused on loss-framed warnings in the case of cigarette smoking. It is also suggested that a combination of messaging can help inform behaviour change in a more effective manner which is based off the concept of the role individual beliefs play in determining outcomes, they said. India being an LMIC, this trend indicates the effect of cancer warning labels in modifying the behaviour of a significant number of people consuming such products, the researchers highlighted. 'The LMICs may look into expanding the positive experience gained from tobacco warning labels to those pertaining to alcohol containers, which clearly state a cancer risk from consumption. It may also be useful for these cancer labels to state that there is no lower threshold for alcohol-related cancer risk along with the types of cancers demonstrably attributable to alcohol consumption so far,' the doctors said. They pointed out that a crucial but often ignored aspect while considering warning labels is the multiplicative interaction of smoking and alcohol consumption in determining cancer risk. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) Workshop in December 2020 emphasised the importance of addressing the combined usage of tobacco and alcohol. Co-use of tobacco and alcohol has been found to be associated with a multiplicative effect in cancer risk, particularly for pharyngeal and oral sites. The importance of reciprocative warning labels on tobacco and alcohol product packaging is further underscored by the fact that alcohol usage has been observed to go up with an increase in cigarette smoking, with the former being associated with lower rates of quitting and higher relapse rates in smokers. It may also be worth considering to have helpful or constructive labelling on containers which guide the user to seek medical advice or undergo screening for cancer instead of being terminalistic in its messaging by suggesting graphic or fatal outcomes upon consumption, the researchers said. 'Since cancer as a disease may present as a result of the combined effect of alcohol and tobacco consumption, it makes sense to place such cancer warning labels and not address these risk factors in isolation,' they said. PTI PLB MNK MNK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
AIIMS researchers call for warning labels on alcohol like tobacco
New Delhi, Researchers at AIIMS have called for strong, evidence-based warning labels on alcohol products to prevent avoidable cancers, building on India's success with tobacco warnings. In an opinion piece titled "Expanding behavioural interventions through cancer warning labels in India: from cigarette packs to alcohol bottles" published in Frontiers in Public Health on July 24, the doctors have highlighted that alcohol, like tobacco, is a proven carcinogen, yet awareness remains low. The opinion piece by oncologists Dr Abhishek Shankar, Dr Vaibhav Sahni and Dr Deepak Saini from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, Delhi stated that adolescence forms a crucial period for the initiation and intensification of substance use behaviour, including alcohol. Behavioural interventions instituted by means of alcohol warning labels may prove to be effective in affecting positive changes in the consumption habits of individuals belonging to this age group, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where it is all the more important for certain sections of society to be educated and sensitised towards the consequences of substance use, the researchers said. They stated that cancer cases in India have seen a steep rise, with data from the 2012 to 2022 period suggesting a 36 per cent increase in incidence (1.01 million- 1.38 million). GLOBOCAN 2022 data saw about 1.41 million new cancer cases in India with a five-year prevalence at around 3.25 million and a total cancer mortality at 916,827. Alcohol attributable a fraction for cancer and age-standardised rate per 100,000 in India are 4.7 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, according to the GLOBOCAN 2020 data. Data from 2016 suggested that 6.6 per cent of Disease Adjusted Life Years in India were attributable to alcohol consumption which followed that of tobacco at 10.9 per cent, the researchers said. The researchers also mentioned about the advisory brought out by the US surgeon general in January 2025 regarding the consumption of alcohol and the risk of cancer, which stated that alcohol consumption demonstrably elevates the risk for developing at a minimum, seven types of cancer (colon/rectum, liver, breast, esophagus, larynx, pharynx and oral cavity). The advisory also mentioned the mechanistic links between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing cancer along with the fact that this effect is observable regardless of gender. Even before the release of this advisory, alcohol-attributable cancers have been recognised to contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, the researchers said. Cancer warning labels on alcohol containers have been observed to be of benefit in reducing alcohol consumption and lowering the perception of consumption, they said. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2016- 17 noted an increase by 16 per cent for health warnings on cigarette packs, with pictorial health warnings demonstrating a 50 per cent elevated impact on the intention to quit smoking cigarettes. Warnings can be differentiated based on the type of messaging involved into loss-framed and gain-framed which have an emphasis on associated risks/harms and the benefits of quitting, respectively, the researchers explained. There is evidence in literature to suggest that gain-framed messaging possesses an advantage over loss-framed warnings but the research on such aspects has mainly focused on loss-framed warnings in the case of cigarette smoking. It is also suggested that a combination of messaging can help inform behaviour change in a more effective manner which is based off the concept of the role individual beliefs play in determining outcomes, they said. India being an LMIC, this trend indicates the effect of cancer warning labels in modifying the behaviour of a significant number of people consuming such products, the researchers highlighted. "The LMICs may look into expanding the positive experience gained from tobacco warning labels to those pertaining to alcohol containers, which clearly state a cancer risk from consumption. It may also be useful for these cancer labels to state that there is no lower threshold for alcohol-related cancer risk along with the types of cancers demonstrably attributable to alcohol consumption so far," the doctors said. They pointed out that a crucial but often ignored aspect while considering warning labels is the multiplicative interaction of smoking and alcohol consumption in determining cancer risk. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) Workshop in December 2020 emphasised the importance of addressing the combined usage of tobacco and alcohol. Co-use of tobacco and alcohol has been found to be associated with a multiplicative effect in cancer risk, particularly for pharyngeal and oral sites. The importance of reciprocative warning labels on tobacco and alcohol product packaging is further underscored by the fact that alcohol usage has been observed to go up with an increase in cigarette smoking, with the former being associated with lower rates of quitting and higher relapse rates in smokers. It may also be worth considering to have helpful or constructive labelling on containers which guide the user to seek medical advice or undergo screening for cancer instead of being terminalistic in its messaging by suggesting graphic or fatal outcomes upon consumption, the researchers said. "Since cancer as a disease may present as a result of the combined effect of alcohol and tobacco consumption, it makes sense to place such cancer warning labels and not address these risk factors in isolation," they said. PTI
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
AIIMS researchers call for warning labels on alcohol, cite low awareness
Researchers at AIIMS have called for strong, evidence-based warning labels on alcohol products to prevent avoidable cancers, building on India's success with tobacco warnings. Behavioural interventions instituted by means of alcohol warning labels may prove to be effective in affecting positive changes in the consumption habits.(Pixaby/Representational Image) In an opinion piece titled "Expanding behavioural interventions through cancer warning labels in India: from cigarette packs to alcohol bottles" published in Frontiers in Public Health on July 24, the doctors have highlighted that alcohol, like tobacco, is a proven carcinogen, yet awareness remains low. The opinion piece by oncologists Dr Abhishek Shankar, Dr Vaibhav Sahni and Dr Deepak Saini from the Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, Delhi stated that adolescence forms a crucial period for the initiation and intensification of substance use behaviour, including alcohol. Behavioural interventions instituted by means of alcohol warning labels may prove to be effective in affecting positive changes in the consumption habits of individuals belonging to this age group, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where it is all the more important for certain sections of society to be educated and sensitised towards the consequences of substance use, the researchers said. They stated that cancer cases in India have seen a steep rise, with data from the 2012 to 2022 period suggesting a 36 per cent increase in incidence (1.01 million-1.38 million). GLOBOCAN 2022 data saw about 1.41 million new cancer cases in India with a five-year prevalence at around 3.25 million and a total cancer mortality at 916,827. Alcohol attributable a fraction for cancer and age-standardised rate per 100,000 in India are 4.7 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, according to the GLOBOCAN 2020 data. Data from 2016 suggested that 6.6 per cent of Disease Adjusted Life Years in India were attributable to alcohol consumption which followed that of tobacco at 10.9 per cent, the researchers said. The researchers also mentioned about the advisory brought out by the US surgeon general in January 2025 regarding the consumption of alcohol and the risk of cancer, which stated that alcohol consumption demonstrably elevates the risk for developing at a minimum, seven types of cancer (colon/rectum, liver, breast, esophagus, larynx, pharynx and oral cavity). The advisory also mentioned the mechanistic links between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing cancer along with the fact that this effect is observable regardless of gender. Even before the release of this advisory, alcohol-attributable cancers have been recognised to contribute significantly to the global burden of disease, the researchers said. Cancer warning labels on alcohol containers have been observed to be of benefit in reducing alcohol consumption and lowering the perception of consumption, they said. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in 2016-17 noted an increase by 16 per cent for health warnings on cigarette packs, with pictorial health warnings demonstrating a 50 per cent elevated impact on the intention to quit smoking cigarettes. Warnings can be differentiated based on the type of messaging involved into loss-framed and gain-framed which have an emphasis on associated risks/harms and the benefits of quitting, respectively, the researchers explained. There is evidence in literature to suggest that gain-framed messaging possesses an advantage over loss-framed warnings but the research on such aspects has mainly focused on loss-framed warnings in the case of cigarette smoking. It is also suggested that a combination of messaging can help inform behaviour change in a more effective manner which is based off the concept of the role individual beliefs play in determining outcomes, they said. India being an LMIC, this trend indicates the effect of cancer warning labels in modifying the behaviour of a significant number of people consuming such products, the researchers highlighted. "The LMICs may look into expanding the positive experience gained from tobacco warning labels to those pertaining to alcohol containers, which clearly state a cancer risk from consumption. It may also be useful for these cancer labels to state that there is no lower threshold for alcohol-related cancer risk along with the types of cancers demonstrably attributable to alcohol consumption so far," the doctors said. They pointed out that a crucial but often ignored aspect while considering warning labels is the multiplicative interaction of smoking and alcohol consumption in determining cancer risk. A National Cancer Institute (NCI) Workshop in December 2020 emphasised the importance of addressing the combined usage of tobacco and alcohol. Co-use of tobacco and alcohol has been found to be associated with a multiplicative effect in cancer risk, particularly for pharyngeal and oral sites. The importance of reciprocative warning labels on tobacco and alcohol product packaging is further underscored by the fact that alcohol usage has been observed to go up with an increase in cigarette smoking, with the former being associated with lower rates of quitting and higher relapse rates in smokers. It may also be worth considering to have helpful or constructive labelling on containers which guide the user to seek medical advice or undergo screening for cancer instead of being terminalistic in its messaging by suggesting graphic or fatal outcomes upon consumption, the researchers said. "Since cancer as a disease may present as a result of the combined effect of alcohol and tobacco consumption, it makes sense to place such cancer warning labels and not address these risk factors in isolation," they said.
News18
08-07-2025
- Health
- News18
15 Million People Born Between 2008-2017 At Risk Of Gastric Cancer, India Among Worst-Hit
Last Updated: A study in Nature Medicine warned that over 15 million children born between 2008-2017 may develop gastric cancer due to Helicobacter pylori, with India and China hardest hit A major new study has issued a sobering warning for global public health; over 15.6 million people worldwide born between 2008 and 2017 may be diagnosed with gastric cancer during their lifetimes, and India could contribute the second-highest number of cases, following China. The alarming findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine and conducted by scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organisation's cancer research arm, suggest that two-thirds of all projected cases will be concentrated in Asia, followed by the Americas and Africa. Citing data from GLOBOCAN 2022 and mortality rates from UN demographic projections, researchers examined cancer incidence across 185 countries. Their calculations revealed a significant cancer burden on future generations, one that's largely preventable. 'Globally, 15.6 million lifetime gastric cancer cases are expected within these birth cohorts, 76 per cent of which are attributable to Helicobacter pylori (bacteria)," the authors noted, according to PTI. India Alone Could See Over 1.65 Crore Cases The report estimates that 10.6 million of the projected cases could arise in Asia, with India and China combined accounting for 6.5 million of them. Cases from India could be 1,657,670 with no changes in the current measures for controlling gastric cancer, it projected. 'Helicobacter pylori infection is the biggest risk factor," the study noted. The bacteria, which typically settles in the stomach, can persist undetected for years, triggering chronic inflammation, ulcers, and eventually, gastric cancer. This form of cancer already ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. What makes the findings more worrying is the age group affected. Those born between 2008 and 2017 are still in their teens or pre-teens, and the prospect of a life-threatening disease already looming over them is deeply concerning for families and policymakers alike. Prevention Could Avert 75% Of Future Cases Despite the grim projections, scientists say that timely intervention could change the future. The study finds that screening for and treating Helicobacter pylori infections could prevent up to 75% of future gastric cancer cases. 'These cases are eminently preventable, but only if nations invest in population-level screening and treatment," the authors emphasised. They also sounded the alarm on the growing incidence among the young and the aging population, a dual demographic shift that could reverse decades of progress in reducing gastric cancer deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa Could See 6-Fold Rise While regions like Sub-Saharan Africa currently report fewer gastric cancer cases, the study warns of a potential six-fold surge in the coming decades if preventive steps are not taken now. 'Gastric cancer is preventable, but only if there is political will and public investment in early intervention," the authors concluded, calling for urgent action globally. This new study builds upon prior warnings from global health authorities. Scientists have already projected that one in every five people will suffer from some form of cancer in their lifetime. This latest research underscores how gastric cancer in particular could become a ticking time bomb, especially in regions like India, where healthcare infrastructure and early screening still face major challenges.
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Study projects over 15 million people born during 2008-2017 could develop gastric cancer in life
Over 15 million people in the world born between 2008 and 2017 might develop gastric cancer at some point in life, with India contributing the second highest number among these cases, after China, a study has projected. Two-thirds of the more than 15 million projected cases could be concentrated in Asia, followed by the Americas and Africa. Researchers, including those from the International Agency for Research on Cancer — the World Health Organisation's cancer agency — analysed data on the incidence of gastric cancer across 185 countries using the GLOBOCAN 2022 database, along with death rates projected from United Nations demographic data. "Globally, 15.6 million lifetime gastric cancer cases are expected within these birth cohorts, 76 per cent of which are attributable to Helicobacter pylori (bacteria)," the authors said in the study published in the journal Nature Medicine. A persistent infection due to 'Helicobacter pylori' — a common bacteria found in the stomach — is said to be the main driver of gastric cancer, which ranks as the world's fifth leading cause of death from cancer. The authors called for more investment in preventing gastric cancer, especially through population-level screening and treating of the bacterial infection, known to be preventable through effective treatment. They added that increasing incidence among the young and an ageing population together threatens to reverse recent efforts in bringing down death rates and cases of gastric cancer. The study projected 10.6 million of new gastric cancer cases will occur in Asia, with 6.5 million cases expected in India and China alone. Cases from India could be 1,657,670 with no changes in the current measures for controlling gastric cancer, it projected. Further, sub-Saharan Africa — currently having a relatively low burden of gastric cancer — could see a future burden at least six times higher than 2022 estimates suggest, the authors said. However, if measures to control gastric cancer in the population are taken, such as screening for and treating bacterial infections, the authors found that expected cases of the disease could be brought down by up to 75 per cent.
