World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. In the context of the evolving beverage market, the WHO acts as a critical voice scrutinizing the rapid expansion of the non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic (NoLo) category.

The WHO has raised significant concerns regarding the fragmented and largely voluntary nature of NoLo governance globally. Because legal definitions vary wildly across jurisdictions (see abv-threshold-divergence), the WHO argues that consumer awareness regarding the actual alcohol content of “alcohol-free” versus “low-strength” beverages remains dangerously limited.

A primary target of the WHO’s critique is the corporate practice of “brand stretching,” which is synonymous with alibi-marketing. The organization warns that when major brewers use 0.0% variants to promote their master brand in arenas where alcohol advertising is heavily restricted (such as sports sponsorships or youth-targeted media), it inadvertently normalizes alcohol consumption rituals in otherwise alcohol-free environments.