Quo vadis, European alcohol policy? Perspectives for the European brewing industry

European alcohol policy has undergone a marked shift from harm reduction towards cancer prevention, driven by the integration of alcohol into Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the increasing prominence of the WHO’s message that no level of alcohol consumption is safe. This article assesses the legal implications of this ‘cancer turn'. It assesses whether proposed and implemented regulatory measures, such as warning labels, comply with the principle of proportionality, taking into consideration fragmented EU competences, contested scientific evidence, declining alcohol consumption trends, and considerations beside public health. These aspects may create legal and political obstacles for far-reaching restrictions at EU level. By contrast, the growing market for non-alcoholic and low-alcohol (NoLo) beverages represents a less contentious and more feasible area for regulatory intervention. Harmonised definitions could reduce legal uncertainty, support substitution-based public health strategies, and facilitate structural transformation in the European brewing industry without the polarising effects of increasingly restrictive alcohol regulation.