What’s your poison?

I was once a vociferous supporter of alcohol, both in my personal and professional capacity as a food and lifestyle influencer. My days revolved around fabulous media launches and even more fabulous complimentary welcome drinks. If my life was a blur, it was because I was drinking morning, noon and night — though obviously never if I was driving. It was all an intoxicating illusion, until my doctor said: you have cancer.

My life crashed. Literally. In fairness, alcohol didn’t give me cancer, but it reminded me that “hindsight explains the injury that foresight could have prevented”. In retrospect, we are all passive accomplices to our vices even when we know they do us more harm than good, and nobody warns you that “everything in moderation” can become the lie that kills you.

SA is the fifth hardest drinking nation in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Who knew somebody was keeping tabs, but our drinking population consumes more than 30l of pure alcohol per person each year,  placing us behind Namibia, Eswatini, the Cook Islands and Tunisia. It’s not something to celebrate because the last thing South Africans need is another reason to drink.

Alcohol and cancer: the hidden truth 

You’ve been warned about fat, sugar and cigarettes — but not that alcohol causes cancer. You don’t have to be a heavy drinker because even moderate consumption can increase your risk. Alcohol is usually associated with liver disease and pregnancy complications, but it is also linked to at least seven cancers, specifically the mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon and breast. There is also evidence emerging that possibly links alcohol to pancreatic and prostate cancer. Who knows where else? 

Asking someone, “What’s your poison?” is no longer a friendly euphemism but a death wish.

Some may find comfort in moderation, but alcohol is no better for you than tobacco or asbestos. Alcohol is a group 1 carcinogen, and every glass carries some degree of risk, according to the WHO. SA has a serious drinking problem that is responsible for more than 60,000 deaths per year and, increasingly, cancer. Instead of making excuses, we need solutions.

A silent killer with no warnings

We can easily change this misconception because the problem isn’t evidence, it’s information. We’ve known for years that alcohol causes cancer, yet warnings remain absent. This is a deliberate omission, not an oversight. South Africans deserve to know all the facts before they purchase a product that is detrimental to their health. 

Yet alcohol is often credited with so-called health benefits. These claims are either anecdotal or convenient, but the risks outweigh the benefits. Unfortunately, alcohol, like cancer, is a silent killer, yet you will never see a label warning you that alcohol causes cancer. Instead, alcohol is marketed as a seemingly harmless and socially acceptable drink. Compared with tobacco, following decades of regulation, health warnings and advertising bans, alcohol is best served cold. A bit like revenge.

If the evidence is so clear, why has public health messaging lagged behind? Follow the money.

Industry power and policy failure

The issue is driven largely by commercial interests. The SA alcohol industry is a powerful economic player and makes a significant contribution to GDP. However, the economic value of the alcohol must be weighed against the burden that it imposes on our healthcare system — a burden the public pays for.

The Liquor Amendment Act of 2017 was intended to protect people from the socioeconomic and public health harms associated with alcohol, but it has been delayed due to industry lobbying. This legislative inertia places the responsibility squarely on the alcohol industry to demonstrate its corporate accountability. Alcohol producers can, and should, put cancer warnings on every bottle, box and can. There is nothing that stops them from doing so except their own reluctance.

Why warnings matter

One would be naive to think that health warnings alone will stop people from drinking alcohol any more than they stopped anyone from smoking, vaping or having unprotected sex. But warnings would be a step in the right direction that would allow people to make informed decisions. Some may choose to abstain completely, others may be driven to drink harder, but it will make people realise that they are responsible for their choices. Alcohol consumption is a choice, and every choice in life has consequences, so choose your consequences wisely.

—  Alcohol consumption is a choice, and every choice in life has consequences, so choose your consequences wisely.

Warning people that alcohol causes cancer would set a global standard for corporate responsibility. It would show that the alcohol industry is capable of being its own moral compass. It would protect consumers and reduce preventable deaths. It would also send a clear message to policymakers that public health can’t wait for politics. For producers, protecting their customers isn’t just ethical, it is in their own interest because dead people don’t buy drinks.

We should educate the public about the dangers of alcohol through public health campaigns that clearly highlight the risks. All alcohol advertising should be banned, except possibly for limited, closed-circuit promotion to existing, consenting customers. Promotion also needs to shift from aspirational to educational, with a strong emphasis on product appreciation as opposed to mindless consumption. The advertising ban must also cover influencer marketing, which has become the industry’s favourite loophole for advertising without accountability.

This isn’t about prohibition; it’s about information. Humans have been fermenting whatever they could find since the Stone Age. However, alcohol was barely a spritzer and heavily diluted with water because drinking it neat was considered barbaric. It’s worth noting that when Jesus turned water into wine, it was a celebration of life rather than an escape from it. And, he did it without promotion. 

There’s no denying that alcohol is one of life’s pleasures, but selling people a product that causes cancer without warning them is just criminal. That’s why alcohol should come with cancer warnings, not serving suggestions, because every unlabelled bottle remains a death sentence.

• Chamberlain-Bell is a cancer survivor and the founder of The Cancer Project, an initiative promoting cancer prevention and community support.