We don’t want mums-to-be drinking

The alcohol industry strongly supports the message that pregnant women, or women thinking of becoming pregnant, should not drink. We’ve been advocating this for years through voluntarily labelling our products with warning messages, contributing $11.5m to the Health Promotion Agency, and our own No Alcohol Means No Risk campaign.

However, the editorial Let’s label liquor industry stalling tactics correctly (July 14) ignores the fact that the majority of products in NZ are already labelled and that we support a consistent labelling standard across Australasia.

The real issue is that labels by themselves don’t work. Government research shows only 5 per cent of people recalled pregnancy warning labels without prompting. Labels must be part of a wider programme to change behaviours of at-risk women.

NZ also has high awareness (96 per cent) that drinking while pregnant is not recommended. So, how do we connect with the ‘‘4%’’ who wouldn’t stop drinking if they were pregnant? Changing behaviours needs to be more than merely providing on-label advice.

Everyone has a role to play – Government, healthcare, education, communities, individuals, producers and the wider hospitality industry. We urge policymakers to take an all-ofsociety approach so that policy targets those who need it most. Bridget MacDonald, executive director, NZ Alcohol Beverages Council leaping from a tangle of correlations to a single-cause explanation.

Auke Smaal, Paraparaumu