Newscasts - Alcohol takes on WHO in battle over health impacts, Reuters finds
24/09/2025 16:42
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_2i2ntmbu&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW761524092025RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - Business videos' Description: The Belgian beer industry, Mexico's tequila makers and Heineken all lobbied governments this summer to resist a push by the U.N.'s health agency to introduce tougher rules targeting alcohol, letters and an email reviewed by Reuters show. Fiona Jones explains. Short Link: https://lseg.group/3W5YRcB Video Transcript: Alcohol industry giants lobbied governments this summer to resist a UN push for tougher rules around drinking. That's according to letters and e-mails seen and reviewed by Reuters. The Belgian beer industry, Mexico's tequila makers, and Heineken are among those taking on the World Health Organization. That over its increasingly strict warning that any level of alcohol consumption is linked to higher risks of certain cancers and diseases. The $1 trillion industry disputes this position and says drinking in moderation is low risk. And as money-savers and increasingly health-conscious consumers cut back on alcohol, this stand-off shows how the sector's ramping up efforts to head off threats. The current issue is a new UN-backed agreement that sets targets for tackling non-communicable diseases, some of which are linked to alcohol. Proposed WHO-backed alcohol controls appeared in a first draft of the agreement in May. But a later version shows elements have been dropped or weakened. Restrictions on advertising were no longer included. And the second draft said countries should "consider" raising taxes on alcohol, replacing an initial requirement to commit to tax hikes. Heineken, Mexican tequila body CNIT, and Belgian brewers told Reuters it was standard practice to communicate industry views to policymakers. CNIT said it wanted to ensure that it was both effective and fair to the industry by providing robust science. The WHO's maintained a stance that there's ''no safe level'' of drinking since 2023. The body said it had to address the main causes of ill health from alcohol to pollution more strongly.