Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Government’s assessment is of the effectiveness of warning labels on alcoholic beverages regarding drinking during pregnancy; and what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of making such labels mandatory.

Jane Ellison

Research in the evidence around the effectiveness of alcohol harm reduction communications and related campaigns suggests that labelling and point of sale information can have an impact on consumption, in conjunction with broader campaigns to raise consumer awareness and education on the health risks linked to alcohol consumption.

As part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alcohol retailers and producers have committed to putting an agreed warning or a pregnancy warning logo on 80% of labels on bottles and cans by the end of 2013. An independent market survey is underway to measure compliance. This level of coverage should allow the majority of consumers to see the pregnancy warning and logo.