15 February 2010
Methodist Church welcomes alcohol labelling proposals
The Methodist Church has welcomed news that the drinks industry
could be forced to put health warnings on all alcoholic
drinks.
The proposals from the Department of Health would mean that, by
law, labels would have to give information such as the number of
units contained in the drink, guidelines for alcohol consumption
and the Drinkaware Trust website (www.drinkaware.co.uk). The Church
has been calling for improved labelling since the launch of the
voluntary scheme in 2007.
David Bradwell, Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church in Britain,
said: "There has been very slow progress with the voluntary
labelling scheme, where the onus for action is left to producers.
But because responsible marketing is not a priority for many
alcohol producers, mandatory labelling has to be the answer. People
should know exactly how many units are in each bottle and should be
aware of the health risks, so that they can make an informed choice
about what and how much they drink."
But the Church believes that further action will be needed to
tackle Britain's binge drinking culture, and it is pressing for the
Government to introduce a minimum sale price for each unit of
alcohol. "Cheap booze blights lives," David continued. "We need
radical action to tackle the devastation caused by alcohol
abuse."