U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to put a 200% tariff on alcohol from France and other European nations in the latest escalation of global trade tensions.

The U.S. tariff comes after the European Union moved to reinstate an import tax on American whiskey.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call Friday to require alcohol labels warning of cancer risk will likely face strong resistance in Congress, which would have to pass a law to require the labels.

The alcohol industry fiercely opposes labeling as well as stricter guidance around consumption — the government currently recommends men consume no more than two drinks per day and women no more than one — and has cultivated support among lawmakers through an expensive lobbying and political operation.

The U.S. surgeon general said alcoholic beverages should carry cancer warnings to increase awareness that the drinks are a leading cause of preventable cancers.

An act of Congress would be required to change the existing warning labels on bottles of beer, wine and liquor. Today, federal rules require only a warning against drunken driving and drinking while pregnant, as well as a general warning that alcohol “may cause health problems.”

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Friday recommended that Congress act to put warning labels on alcohol products and put out a report linking drinking to seven different cancers.

Dr. Murthy’s report linked alcohol consumption to a higher chance of developing mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, liver and colorectal cancers, as well as breast cancer in women.

Reducing the hours bars and taverns could sell alcohol in a Baltimore neighborhood reduced all violent crime in the area annually by 23 percent, a study has found.

Research by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the Alcohol Research Group of Emeryville, California, found that the number of murders dropped by 51 percent within the first month of the trial.

The homicide rate fell by 40 percent annually, compared to similar low-income neighborhoods which had no change in hours of alcohol sales.

Deaths linked to excessive drinking surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The study in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that the average annual number of deaths from “excessive alcohol use” rose by around 30 percent from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021. In the same period, the average annual number of deaths from “excessive alcohol use” rose by around 27 percent for men and 35 percent for women.

In a break from long standing religious tradition, Saudi Arabia is set to open its first ever liquor store within a few weeks. 

The decision—led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—is historic for the kingdom, which has enforced stringent prohibition measures against alcohol since it was first banned in 1952.

The consumption of alcohol is forbidden in Islam, but the incoming store will only sell alcohol to non-Muslims in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, and authorization must be sought through an app called Diplo, Reuters reported. 

Saudi Arabia’s first alcohol store has opened in the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh, accessible to non-Muslim diplomats. 

While it only affects a select group, it’s a big change for the highly conservative Muslim kingdom, where alcohol has been banned since 1952 after a Saudi prince murdered a British diplomat in a drunken rage. Drinking is also forbidden under Islam, and most of Saudi Arabia’s local population is religiously observant.