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Moves are under way to introduce labels on alcoholic beverages warning women of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy.
The Ministry of Health's chief adviser of public health Ashley Bloomfield said the ministry was working towards a change which would make the warnings mandatory on all alcoholic drink containers.
The ministry, with the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC), had made an application to the joint Australian and New Zealand food safety regulator, FSANZ.
"The Ministry of Health has (applied) to FSANZ to amend the Food Standards Code so that all containers of alcoholic beverages would be required to be labelled with a warning of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy," Dr Bloomfield said.
He said the application was still being assessed by FSANZ and a decision was expected next year.
Dr Bloomfield's comments came shortly after an announcement that health warnings were set to appear on British drinks by late 2008.
The warning labels would give the number of standard drinks inside the container, and the recommended safe drinking level for that beverage.
New Zealand alcohol containers already state the number of standard drinks they carry, but there is no requirement to specify a safe level of consumption.
Dr Bloomfield said New Zealand, like Britain, suffered from a "binge drinking" culture in some parts of society.
He cited a 2004 survey of drinking habits, which found that 18 to 24 year olds drank less often than 55 to 65 year olds, but they were much more likely to consume a large amount of alcohol on a single night out.
ALAC recommended no more than six standard drinks for men, and four for women, on any one occasion.
- NZPA
