Alcohol warning labels urged after coroners' web appeals

Alcohol advisory groups have renewed calls to put warning labels on alcohol following a recommendation posted by the chief coroner on the internet.

Nearly 60 health and safety recommendations by the country's coroners issued over the past 20 months were put on the coroners' website yesterday.

One of the coroners' appeals was that labels should be fixed to alcohol bottles in the same way health warnings were printed on tobacco packets.

The website added that greater efforts should be made to educate the public through campaigns about the danger of death from drinking too much alcohol.

The Alcohol Advisory Council (Alac) said the labels should be on the container warning pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol to their unborn child.

"Women need to have the necessary information to make informed choices about any product they may potentially consume during pregnancy that could harm the fetus," Alac's early intervention manager Sue Paton said.

"Not having this basic foundational information displayed on the product sends a signal to women that alcohol mustn't be that much of a problem during pregnancy - a message that is contrary to both Alac and official Ministry of Health advice to avoid alcohol during that time."

Alcohol Healthwatch said advising against drinking while pregnant, drinking by the young, and drinking before driving should be top priorities for warning labels on alcohol containers.

It pointed to a recent report to the Accident Compensation Corporation that estimated the cost of alcohol-related harm in New Zealand was nearly $4.8 billion a year.

The group's director, Rebecca Williams, said the issue of warning labels had been "left to wallow" in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand processes for years.

Ms Williams said bold and clear warning messages were a cost-effective way of raising awareness and reminding the public of the risks associated with drinking.

- NZPA