Ireland Mulls Health Warnings on Alcohol Products

national | consumer issues | news report Tuesday January 06, 2004 18:14 by Sean Walsh

Health warnings on Drink

It's enough to make even the most hardened drinker think about becoming a teetotaler.

Fresh from an assault on their previously inalienable right to light up in pubs throughout Ireland, tipplers are now facing the prospect of cigarette-style health warnings on bottles and cans of alcohol.

The health ministry confirmed Monday it was considering introducing warnings in an effort to persuade binge drinkers to sober up, after surveys showed the Irish are among the world's highest per capita drinkers.

It follows on from a ban on "happy hours" and a tightening up of regulations covering underage drinkers in pubs.

Officials are also reviewing alcohol advertising campaigns and promotions which target young people.

A health ministry spokesman denied the proposed crackdown would turn Ireland into a "nanny state," given the imminent ban on smoking in the workplace.

"The motivation behind these measures is public health and nothing else," he added.

Government figures estimate that alcohol-related problems cost Ireland about $2.7 billion a year in costs for health care, crime, road accidents and lost productivity.

A clampdown has been backed by the country's health profession with three-quarters of doctors favoring warning labels similar to those found on cigarette packets, according to a survey in the Irish Medical Times.

However, the drinks industry gave a less favorable response and said an extension of health warnings on cigarettes to alcohol made little sense.

"Alcohol, when consumed moderately, does not cause any harm and so a health warning wouldn't make much sense in a straightforward sense," said Pat Barry, director of corporate affairs at Diageo Plc, brewers of Irish traditional tipple Guinness.

Not only had the industry joined together to promote sensible drinking, but advertising campaigns were now carefully vetted, he added.

But his argument is unlikely to hold much sway with the government, already set to stamp out smoking in pubs and restaurants next year despite massive opposition from the hospitality industry.

The smoking ban had been due to start at the beginning of January but has been delayed until March at the earliest to allow for prisons and psychiatric hospitals to be exempted.