EU countries against alcohol health warnings in Ireland

Ireland is “not going to back off” on its promise to impose health warnings on alcohol products despite objections from 11 EU countries and the European Commission.

EU countries oppose Ireland’s plans to print health warnings and nutritional information on alcohol products

Under the Public Health Alcohol Bill, all alcoholic drinks will print warnings and total alcohol and calorie content information.

The proposed legislation is currently at second stage in the Seanad where it was first introduced on 17 December 2015.

The European Commission expressed concern about the proposal, along with opposition based largely on labelling requirements from the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain.

Dublin MEP, Brian Hayes, said: “The legislation is a landmark piece of public health legislation. It contains many measures including minimum pricing, advertising rules and restrictions on promotions. The most controversial element is the requirement to have health labels on all alcoholic drinks.

“This means all alcoholic drinks sold in Ireland must contain a label showing the grams of alcohol, calorie count, health warnings as well as an address to a public health website. No such laws exist in any other EU country.”

“If the legislation is introduced, manufactures who import alcohol into Ireland would be required to include health labels on their products. A number of EU member states have submitted objections to the legislation as well as the European Commission stating that the legislation would create barriers to free trade.”

“I am extremely concerned that the European Commission or another EU Member State intervening would delay this important piece of legislation. Member states must be able to react to ongoing health concerns, which are particular to those member states, in a determined and coordinated way.”

Last year, Diageo claimed its Crown Royal Canadian whisky was the first alcoholic beverage brand to include serving facts on its packaging in the US, alongside macro-nutritional information.