Industry has ‘failed’ to reduce alcohol harm

Governments should make health warnings on alcohol labels a mandatory measure to combat harm since the drinks industry’s own voluntary efforts have “failed”, according to the CEO of one research centre.

Michael Thorn, chief executive of FARE, has argued efforts to increase health warnings on alcohol labels should be “government led”

For Michael Thorn, chief executive of Australia’s Foundation for Alcohol Research (FARE), warnings about the short and long-term harms of alcohol should be clearly included on all alcohol labels as mandatory practice.

“The public have the right to know about the harms associated with the products they consume. The very point of warning labels is to alert people to those dangers,” he said.

“Unfortunately, in Australia, after two and a half years, the current voluntary alcohol industry initiative has failed, with too few products carrying weak consumer messages that are hard to find, and even harder to read.”

Thorn added that any possible industry objection that such a measure is unnecessary and may damage sales, should be ignored.

“That industry would cry foul because its sales might suffer, is the very reason why alcohol warning labels must be mandatory and government led, and makes very clear why industry’s own voluntary efforts have failed,” he added.

The issue of alcohol health warnings has been running for some time, as various health organisations and politicians enhance their calls to make the practice statutory.

In August this year, the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol misuse proposed that all alcohol products should carry graphic “evidence-based” health warnings similar to those on tobacco packets.

Meanwhile, the chair of the group, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, said the drinks industry’s “immensely powerful lobby” is keeping British political parties from taking alcohol misuse seriously.

However, according to Rosemary Gallagher, spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), making alcohol warning labels a statutory measure would be “disproportionate”.

“Alcohol is not tobacco. The majority of consumers in the UK drink responsibly and we believe the responsible consumption of alcohol is not incompatible with a healthy lifestyle,” she said. “Such a measure would therefore be disproportionate.”

Furthermore, a group of EU ambassadors, MEPs and producers argued at a summit in Brussels that increasing alcohol labeling requirements and excise tax may not be the answer to tackling health issues.