The European Spirits Organisation

Health Warning Labels

In recent years, health warning labels for alcoholic beverages have been proposed in some member states of the European Union. Some companies have also decided to voluntarily display such information on their products.

However, at the moment France is the only EU country requesting a mandatory 'pregnancy warning label' for alcoholic beverages, with a voluntary information and pregnancy warning labelling scheme in place in the UK.

In 2005, the French National Assembly adopted a legislative proposal stating that all containers of alcoholic beverages should carry a message recommending pregnant women not to consume alcohol. The decree was published on 3 October 2006, and the prescribed message consists of either:

• a written statement : " La consommation de boissons alcoolisées pendant la grossesse, même en faible quantité, peut avoir des conséquences graves pour la santé de l'enfant »

• a logo:

The health message shall appear in the same visual field as the compulsory indication of the alcoholic strength by volume. The health message shall be printed on a contrasting background, be visible, legible, clearly comprehensible and indelible. No indication for a minimal size is given. Experience has shown that, for practical reasons, industry tends to use the logo instead of the written statement.

In the UK, a Memorandum of Understanding was being agreed between the Department of Health and representatives of the alcohol industry in 2007, following consultation, in respect of a voluntary scheme for the inclusion of sensible drinking messages on alcohol labels. The scheme is UK wide. The voluntary agreement was launched on 28 May 2007. There is no standard format for how the information should be displayed, but the understanding is that a label might include alcohol unit content, information on recommended safe drinking levels, a responsible drinking message, information about Drinkaware as well as a message recommending pregnant women not to consume alcohol.

In Ireland, government and industry reached a general agreement on introducing a pregnancy warning labelling scheme in October 2007, and discussions on its implementation are still ongoing.

Our position

The European Spirits Organisation - CEPS fully supports initiatives which will be effective in better informing consumers on the responsible consumption of its products and the dangers of misuse. The European Spirits Organisation - CEPS does not believe that warning labels are the most effective means to communicate with the consumer on this complex issue. Campaigns and initiatives specifically targeting those at risk (for example, pregnant women, drivers, addicts and under age drinkers) and providing consumers with all the necessary information to make informed choices about responsible drinking behaviour are more effective. Such actions need to involve all stakeholders and most notably the medical profession, health agencies, parents and other family members and teachers. The EU spirits industry is already involved in many activities to better inform consumers on the need to consume its products responsibly and the dangers of misuse and has committed to do more in this respect through the implementation of the CEPS Charter on Responsible Alcohol Consumption, adopted in November 2005. Such activities will, where possible, be developed with other stakeholders (schools, the medical profession, parents organisations etc) and include: - A commitment that 75% of advertising will include a responsible drinking message by 2010 - A commitment to better educate consumers through clearer definitions of what is meant by responsible consumption and what constitutes misuse and to communicate this information more widely, for example, through more and better websites, consumer leaflets and media campaigns.

Last updated on 6 August 2008.