Whisky bottles should carry health warnings, MPs claim

Health warnings should be printed on bottles of whisky, gin, vodka and other alcohol products to combat problem drinking, a group of British MPs have suggested.

Bottles of whisky, gin and vodka may have to carry health warnings similar to tobacco packets

The recommendation to warn consumers about the harmful effects of drinking is just one of 10 measures proposed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse.

Tracey Crouch, chair of the APP on Alcohol Misuse said all alcohol products should carry health warnings similar to those already on tobacco packets.

“The facts and figures of the scale of alcohol misuse in the UK speak for themselves: 1.2 million people a year are admitted to hospital due to alcohol; liver disease in those under 30 has more than doubled over the past 20 years; and the cost of alcohol to the economy totals £21bn,” she said.

“There must be a more thorough and full package of measures which tackles the problem more effectively and reduces the costs to people’s health of alcohol-related crime and treatment.”

Within the manifesto, created to shape opinion in the run-up to the 2015 election, the APP on Alcohol Misuse claims alcohol labels should “include an evidence-based health warning as well as describing the product’s nutritional, calorific and alcohol content”.

Other measures outlined in the document include introducing minimum unit pricing; strengthen alcohol advertising regulations and introduce a phased ban on alcohol sponsorship; and reduce the drink driving limit to 50mg per 100ml.

Jackie Ballard, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “Alcohol misuse costs Britain £21 billion a year. We need urgent action to tackle this and the significant harmful effects alcohol misuse causes to individuals. I hope all parties will read the manifesto and show a commitment to the vital measures which it highlights.”