(Reuters) – Shares in European spirits makers and brewers fell on Friday after the U.S. surgeon general called for cancer warnings on alcoholic drinks.
Alcoholic drinks should carry a label warning consumers about their cancer risks, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an advisory, noting that their consumption increases the risk of developing breast, colon, liver and other cancers.
Shares in the world’s top spirits maker Diageo (LON:) were down some 3% to their lowest since mid-December at 1352 GMT, after falling as much as 4.1%.
French spirits maker Pernod Ricard (EPA:), which owns Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka, was down around 3.2%, while its peer Remy and Italian spirits group Campari (LON:) were both down around 3.8%.
Brewers were also hit, with Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev (EBR:) down around 2%, and Heineken (AS:) and Carlsberg (CSE:) down between 1% and 1.5%.
