Drink Limits to Be Carried on Labels ; BRITAIN

May 29, 01:40 AM

Current Headlines: ALCOHOLIC drinks will get new warning labels under a Government scheme announced today.

In a voluntary agreement between ministers and the industry, all drinks will be expected to carry details of units and recommended safe drinking levels on their labels by the end of 2008.

At present, bottles and cans carry percentage details of alcohol and most carry unit information.

But the Government now wants safety advice for pregnant women put on there as well as the recommendations for safe drinking.

One unit is equivalent to a small glass of wine, half a pint of beer or one pub measure of spirits.

The Government recommends that men do not regularly exceed three or four units a day and women do not exceed two or three units a day.

The move comes amid fears about the rise in binge drinking and an increase in alcohol-related deaths.

Last week, the Government issued guidance saying pregnant women and those trying to conceive should not drink at all.

New labels will include the drink's unit content and safe drinking levels. For beer, wines and spirits, unit information will be given per glass and bottle.

The charity website - www.drinkaware.co.uk - will also be included on the labels.

Public health minister Caroline Flint said: "This agreement will help people calculate, at a glance, how much they are drinking and whether they are staying within guidelines.

"We want to make it as simple as possible for people to keep an eye on how much they are drinking and help them take the responsibility for lessening the impact excess alcohol can have on their health.

"Unit information combined with sensible drinking guidelines on the new labels will make it simpler for people to calculate how many units they are drinking and make easier for them to stick to the recommended limits."

British Retail Consortium (BRC) director general Kevin Hawkins said: "This is yet another practical demonstration of retailers' responsible attitude to selling alcohol."

Kevin Byrne, interim chief executive of Drinkaware, said: "We hope that by providing consumers with more accessible information, it will enable them to make better choices about how often and how much they drink."

Government research shows that 86% of people know units are a measure of alcohol and 69% know the recommended limits.

However, only 13% keep a check on the number of units they drink each week.

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