World’s first law on health labelling of alcohol introduced in Ireland
New For On Alcohol Introduced In Been Has (lynne A Law Labelling Cameron/pa) Ireland Health
The world’s first comprehensive health labelling of alcohol products is to be signed into law by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly today and will contain warnings about risks of liver disease and cancers from excessive consumption.
Mr Donnelly has signed the Public Health (Alcohol) (Labelling) Regulations 2023 and the remaining provisions of Section 12 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act.
However, there will be a three-year lead-in time built into the law in order to give businesses time to prepare for the change.
The law will apply from May 22, 2026.
Labels will direct the consumer to the HSE website, askaboutalcohol.ie for further information.
“This law is designed to give all of us as consumers a better understanding of the alcohol content and health risks associated with consuming alcohol," Mr Donnelly said.
"With that information, we can make an informed decision about our own alcohol consumption.
"Packaging of other food and drink products already contains health information and, where appropriate, health warnings.
"This law is bringing alcohol products into line with that."
He added that he hopes other countries will follow Ireland’s lead.
Meanwhile, the HSE will also today launch a ‘Safer Nightlife’ programme which aims to reduce ‘drug harm’ among people attending music festivals this summer.
It is designed to continue the work of last year’s successful pilot programme and will see the HSE partnering with a small number of festivals to put in place Safer Nightlife harm reduction programmes onsite.
The multi-component campaign will involve outreach at festivals, 'back of house’ drug checking through the use of surrender bins, media awareness, and a social media campaign.
Public Health Minister Hildegarde Naughton said she is delighted to see the programme expand into its second year.
“It is an excellent example of reducing the harms of drug use through interagency work and engaging closely with people who may be considering using drugs.
"The programme was incredibly successful in 2022 and allowed us to highlight particularly dangerous substances encountered in festival settings while also creating greater awareness for people who use drugs as part of the nighttime economy,” she said.
The HSE’s national clinical lead on addiction services, Professor Eamon Keenan, said the ‘back of house’ drug checking service has the aim of identifying drug market trends of concern.
“As shown at the first phase conducted at Electric Picnic last summer, this approach has the potential to identify trends otherwise unknown," he said.
At that festival, the HSE found 'trends of concern' including high potency drugs, 12 new psychoactive substances, and four drugs which had never been identified before in this country.