UK Health Radio – Medical News Update - Alcohol Health Warning Labelling

UK Health Radio – Medical News Update

Alcohol Health Warnings

A parliamentary group says that health warnings on alcoholic drinks should be introduced to combat problem drinking. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse has said that labels should warn about the harmful effects of drinking in the same way that warnings about the harm that cigarette smoking can do appear on cigarette packages.   This is part of the 10 recommendations that have been put forward to minimise alcohol-related problems in the UK - including cutting the drink-drive limit.

The government said it was working to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and tackle the sale of cheap alcohol.

Health warnings are now a familiar feature on tobacco products and detailed nutritional labelling is now the norm on food products and soft drinks. The group argues that consumer information on alcohol products usually details nothing more than the volume strength and unit content.  The argument is that consumers should be informed about balanced risk, and every alcohol label should include an evidence-based health warning as well as giving details of the product's calorific, nutritional and alcohol content.

Among their recommendations, the MPs are calling for a reduction of the drink drive limit as well as the strengthening of regulations surrounding alcohol marketing and the introduction of a mandatory minimum price per unit for alcohol.

They have also recommended that a national public awareness campaign on alcohol-related issues, training for social workers, midwives and healthcare professionals and to make alcohol treatment available to 15% of problem drinkers compared with a figure of 6% that is the current situation.

Conservative MP Tracey Crouch, chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse said "Getting political parties to seriously commit to these 10 measures will be a massive step in tackling the huge public health issue that alcohol is."

Jackie Ballard, chief executive of Alcohol Concern told the BBC that urgent action was needed to tackle the issue of alcohol misuse saying, “This is about individual education and knowledge. Alcohol is related to about 60 different health conditions. People think about liver disease as being caused by alcohol. They don't think about increased blood pressure, increased risk of strokes, heart attacks, even cancer.

"So we're talking about a major problem. The MPs in this report describe it as a pandemic."

Sarah Hanratty, deputy chief executive of the Portman Group, which was established by the UK's leading alcohol producers to promote responsible drinking, said 80% of people drank "well within" the government's recommended guidelines.

She told the BBC News Channel that "graphic" health warnings on alcohol packaging would be a "step too far".

"I think there's lots of information out there for people.” She said “The industry here is doing incredible amounts of work in terms of voluntarily putting the government's guidelines on alcohol.”

This debate is  no doubt set to continue

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio – Medical News Update

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