Tough alcohol warning labels wanted in Oz

Calls have been made for tougher warnings on alcohol labels in Australia following the revelation that 15 people die every day from alcohol-related harm in the country.

A new report has called for hardened warnings on alcohol labels in Australia

A recent report funded by the Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education (FARE) found that alcohol causes 15 deaths in Australia every day, and hospitalises a further 430 Australians.

Injuries accounted for more than one in three (36%) alcohol-related deaths, while cancer and digestive diseases caused 25 and 16 per cent, respectively.

The Alcohol’s Burden of Disease in Australia report, conducted by Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre found 5,554 deaths and 157,132 hospitalisations were caused by alcohol in 2010, with the number of deaths increasing by 62% since the study was last undertaken a decade ago.

FARE’s CEO Michael Thorn therefore said that Australian governments can no longer ignore the “urgent need for decisive and effective action” to reduce the rising toll.

“A decade ago alcohol was responsible for 3,430 deaths per year. Now that figure stands at 5,554,” he said. “Governments can’t afford to wait another ten years to act. Only decisive, evidence-based action will stem Australia’s worsening alcohol toll.”

He told Australia’s news.com that alcohol companies should be made to put strong health warnings on their labels, similar to those found on cigarette packaging.

“The alcohol industry, like the tobacco industry before it, has long shown itself unwilling to acknowledge the extent of the harms it causes,” he told the publication.

Thorn said population-wide measures that address the price, promotion and availability of alcohol would not only save lives but also deliver significant financial savings to cash-strapped governments.

These proposed hardened drinking measures reflect those recently introduced in New South Wales, which were launched as part of a bid to curtail violent behaviour in the state.