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Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
‘Clinical Obesity' Definition Shifts Obesity Prevalence
The adoption of the new 'clinical obesity' definition alters prevalence estimates of obesity in many parts of the world compared with BMI-based definitions, new data suggested. In January 2025, a Lancet Commission proposed that the diagnosis of obesity first be made via confirmation of excess adiposity using measures such as waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio in addition to BMI. Next, a clinical assessment of signs and symptoms of organ dysfunction due to obesity and/or functional limitations determines whether the individual has the disease 'clinical obesity' or 'preclinical obesity,' a condition of health risk but not an illness itself. That definition, although endorsed by more than 75 professional medical organizations, has proved controversial, with a commonly cited concern that people in the 'preclinical obesity' category might be denied needed care. But the Lancet authors counter that the 'preclinical' obesity category should be treated as a health risk factor, no differently than hypertension or dyslipidemia. A new analysis of nationally representative surveys from 56 mostly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) showed that application of a modified version of the 'clinical obesity' definition would reduce obesity prevalence by more than 50% in some regions. It was published on July 24, 2025, in PLOS Global Public Health . 'Our results emphasize the need to carefully consider how obesity is defined in population surveillance to ensure its relevance to health outcomes. While the clinical obesity framework offers a more precise measure of obesity-related disease burden, its implementation in routine surveillance will require further adaptation to overcome data availability challenges,' the authors wrote. Lead author Rodrigo M. Carrillo-Larco, MD, PhD, of the Department of Global Health at Emory University, Atlanta, told Medscape Medical News that there is a need for 'agreement on whether the definition has to change and for what purposes so that the right tools and specific definitions are in place. If for clinical purposes, what definition should be used to start pharmacologic treatment, for claims and reimbursement, and for risk stratification of other diseases?' In the paper, Carrillo-Larco and colleagues express the concern that with the new definition, 'there is little to no opportunity for primary prevention of clinical obesity, as its definition already includes a cardiometabolic condition that most likely warrants secondary prevention or treatment.' However, Lancet Commission Chair Francesco Rubino, MD, professor and chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King's College London, London, England, told Medscape Medical News that this perception is incorrect. 'Clinical obesity represents only a subset of the broader obesity spectrum. Total obesity prevalence should include both clinical and preclinical obesity.' Added Lancet Commission member Ricardo Cohen, MD, director of the Center for Obesity and Diabetes, Oswaldo Cruz German Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil, 'The published paper demonstrates that prevalence estimates shift because the clinical definition targets those with higher medical need and not because fewer people require care. This is about better risk stratification, not exclusion.' Clinical Obesity Prevalence Differs From BMI-Only Obesity The study included nationally representative data from the World Health Organization's STEPS Survey for a total of 142,250 people in 56 countries in six world regions, including Africa (n = 49,438 from 18 countries), the Americas ( n = 3083 from one country), the Eastern Mediterranean (n = 19,292 from nine countries), Europe (n = 17,536 from seven countries), Southeast Asia (n = 27,334 from six countries), and the Western Pacific ( n = 25,567 from 15 countries). Carrillo-Larco told Medscape Medical News that LMICs were sampled because 'obesity may impose a greater burden in LMICs, given the limitations in access to treatment and counseling for obesity as well as for related comorbidities.' The clinical obesity definition used for the study included objective measures of weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and total cholesterol. The Lancet definition includes a longer list of conditions, but the authors note that those data are not routinely available in many LMICs. Rubino said this could lead to an underestimate of the true prevalence of obesity. On the other hand, Carrillo-Larco and colleagues noted that the lack of such data in many countries represents a limitation of the definition. At the national level, the prevalence of clinical obesity in men ranged from less than 1% in Timor-Leste, Rwanda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Cambodia to 29% in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Tokelau. In women, clinical obesity prevalence was as low as ≤ 1% in Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Cambodia, and as high as 28% in American Samoa and Tuvalu. Among men, the age-standardized prevalence of clinical obesity was < 10% in 41 countries, mostly in Africa (18/41). Among women, the age-standardized prevalence of clinical obesity was less than 10% in 30 countries, also mostly in Africa (14/30). The largest shift in prevalence occurred in Malawi, with BMI-only obesity in 0.7% vs clinical obesity in 0.2%, a relative reduction of 67.7%. However, the absolute change was less than 1 percentage point. Countries experiencing both a relative change of ≥ 10% and an absolute change of ≥ 10 percentage points were Nauru (-35.5% relative change and 13.3 percentage points in absolute change; prevalence of clinical obesity was 24.2% and that of BMI-only obesity was 37.5%) and Qatar (-49.2% and 10.3; prevalence of clinical obesity was 10.6% and that of BMI-only obesity was 20.9%). In women, the relative change in prevalence exceeded 50% in Malawi (relative reduction of 52.8%; 5.6% for BMI-only obesity and 2.6% for clinical obesity) and Rwanda (-52.4%; 2.7% for BMI-only obesity and 1.3% for clinical obesity). In Malawi and Rwanda, the absolute change was 2.9 and 1.4 percentage points, respectively. Countries with both relative and absolute changes exceeding 10% and 10 percentage points, respectively, were in the Western Pacific (American Samoa, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, and Tuvalu). Rubino told Medscape Medical News , 'Distinguishing clinical from preclinical obesity doesn't reduce urgency — it ensures timely treatment for those who need it and directs prevention toward those for whom it remains possible.' Regardless, Carrillo-Larco said, 'Clinicians should always consider obesity as a multifactorial condition for which nonpharmacologic conditions are very important and social determinants of health play a key role.' The authors received no specific funding. Rubino declared having received research grants from Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson), Novo Nordisk, and Medtronic; consulting fees from Morphic Medical; and speaking honoraria from Medtronic, Ethicon, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Amgen. He has also served (unpaid) as a member of the scientific advisory board for Keyron and as a member of the data safety and monitoring board for GI Metabolic Solutions. Cohen declared having received research grants from Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic; honoraria for lectures and presentations from Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Novo Nordisk; and serving on scientific advisory boards for Morphic Medical, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic.
The Print
4 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
5 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
5 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
5 days ago
- Health
- News18
AIIMS researchers call for warning labels on alcohol like tobacco
Last Updated: 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. 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 PLB MNK MNK (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 27, 2025, 17:15 IST News agency-feeds AIIMS researchers call for warning labels on alcohol like tobacco Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. 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