Most alcohol labels omit safety guide as ‘profits go before health’

MORE than 70 per cent of alcohol labels do not include the drinking guidelines which were updated more than three years ago, research shows.

The Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) examined labels on 424 products in shops across Scotland, Wales, London, and the south-east and northeast of England.

It found that 71 per cent missed out drinking guidelines and that more than half of labels included no nutritional information. Only around a third listed calorie content and just 7 per cent had full nutritional content.

Nearly a quarter of the products displayed misleading or outdated health information such as the old UK guidelines or those from other countries, the AHA said.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, the AHA chairman, said: “Alcohol labelling in this country is woefully inadequate, and not fit for purpose if we wish to build a healthier society. It is disappointing but telling that members of the Portman Group, the body purporting to promote ‘best practice’ on labelling of alcohol products, are the least likely to display basic health information.

“It is time that health labelling is required for all products. The public must be granted the power to make informed decisions about their health by having access to prominent health warnings and information on ingredients, nutrition and alcohol content at the point of purchase.

“The industry’s reluctance to include this information on products suggests profits are being put ahead of people’s health,” he added.

The research also described health information as often being printed too small and therefore “illegible” for many.

It also suggests members of the Portman Group, a social responsibility and regulatory body for alcohol in the UK, were least likely to include the correct low-risk drinking guidelines.

However, the group’s chief executive, John Timothy, told the PA news agency: “This report is utter nonsense, and is based on out-of-date information, and the typical anti-alcohol ideology of the AHA who cannot stand the fact that the moderate majority can sensibly enjoy a drink and stick within the 14-unit guidance.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We encourage all alcohol producers to consistently display the UK Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines so that people can make informed choices about the alcohol they consume.”