The BC government will soon be sitting down with groups and stakeholders on how to improve the liquor laws in the province.
This comes after the Yukon put cancer-warning labels on the back of liquor bottles last month and what a safe consumption rate should be for men and women in the territory.
Attorney General David Eby supports the move since nutritional information is already made available on several food products.
“I don’t think alcohol is any exception. I think consumers should have access to easy to understand information so they can make decisions about their consumption that affects their health.”
A process of this kind from another province or territory should give people a better understanding on the issue.
“Simply because its approved and regulated by the government doesn’t mean that it’s harmless and it doesn’t mean they’re aren’t harmful or less harmful ways to consume it. I think the fact the Yukon has taken this initiative is a very good thing for them to have done to assist people and help them understand what they are consuming.”
The BC branch of the Canadian Cancer Society has also chimed in, saying drinking too much alcohol can up the risk of several cancers including breast, colon, rectum, oesophagus, larynx, liver, mouth and pharynx.
Eby says this also puts a strain on taxpayers. “There is a huge public cost attached to overconsumption of alcohol whether its liver disease or different cancers or someone drinking way, way too much and ending up in the emergency room – that comes out of our tax dollars.”
The government will now look at what’s been done in other areas of the United States and as far as Europe on what the next step should be.
If a policy of any kind becomes reality in BC, it will be industry-driven.
“They’re very receptive to this kind of approach, and when we look at the kind of industry we’ve been growing in BC whether its craft beer or the wine industry or ciders or whatever it is, it’s not built around a culture of drinking as much as you can and passing out it’s built around food and tourism.”
The Yukon may add a third label in the future on what classifies as a standard drink whether its five ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer.