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Sir, – Patricia nMsCallan of the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (August 2nd) fails to acknowledge that every day three people will die from alcohol-related harms, many largely unaware of the risk associated with alcohol consumption. Introducing warnings on labels of alcoholic beverages is an important component of public health policy to reduce alcohol related harm. If conspicuously and prominently displayed, health messages can, as European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis recently stated, “raise awareness and encourage a change in perception of the risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption”. This reflects the policy direction of the World Health Organisation’s strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, and most recently, the discussion paper from the Codex Commission’s Committee on Food Labelling.
The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which still awaits enactment 1,000 days after being introduced to the Oireachtas, reflects the WHO policy direction with the objective to reduce Ireland’s excessive patterns of alcohol consumption and resultant social, economic and health harms.
Source: irishtimes.com, 03/08/2018
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