MrTumble

Im surprised that in this day and age, that bottles of booze dont carry some sort of health warning.

At least some label that warns that alcohol can be addictive, how many calories are in the bottle, how many units, and some message about not drinking and driving.

Why isnt this on a bottle of booze?

Sudz No More

They do here and usually post this one

“GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems”

Nineteen67

They do here, makes no difference though, in my opinion.

mpr

I agree. I know a lot of people who are very "healthy" yet they turn a blind eye towards alcohol like it is an exemption.

Labels wouldn't be a dealbreaker but their should be more awareness when it comes to alcohol.

hawkeyefan

Yeah, like a skull and crossbones with the warning "excessive intake can cause debilitating illness or death". Maybe not this extreme but cigarettes in the US say something like "the surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking can cause lung cancer". It hasn't stopped me or a lot of others but at least it's now really frown upon (smoking) and maybe alcohol use would lessen. Just a thought.

MrTumble

I quit smoking because of the overwhelming evidence that it was doing me harm, the evidence was observed in my own health and also i was informed in various forms by media, medical community and on the smokes.

I want to quite booze, because again the overwhelming evidence is that its bad for my health, both mentally and physically.

These kind of warning help people make the mental switch and realisations needed to stop doing self-harm.

It wont make an instant difference and change attitudes for all people, but by informing people can make better choices for their own health. Slowly things may change.

escapist

Yeah something like ," If this is the 12th bottle you have opened today then you are drunk and you can stop now, can't you?"


or " Statistics show that 1 in every 7 people who drink alcohol become addicted to it. "

joshlyman

There was a debate awhile back because the wine industry was fighting to have a "heart healthy" label on certain bottles of red wine

Bostonsportsfan

Yeah this.

MrTumble

No such labels on bottles where I live.

orieme

I personally think Professor Nutt's work should be taught, alcohol isn't only harmful it is the MOST harmful drug yet it is socially acceptable.

The UK has a unit system which, I think at least, is meant to inform the consumer how much is in the bottle/measure so that they can drink responsibly. To be frank, I think it's mainly used along with the % value to work out how much booze you're getting for your money...

caboblanco

awareness when it comes to alcohol? Is there really any adults alive today that don't know what happens when you drink too much? I don't know any. It really only applies to us alcoholics and we still drink anyway.

MrTumble

so effectively everyone is saying that there is no need for any extra warnings?

orieme

Better education and readily available treatment > Bigger/more colourful warnings.

Also, most people will turn their noses up at somebody who admits to taking illegal drugs whilst happily downing a bottle of wine.

There was documentary on BBC 1 a while back about the drinks industry and its "Drink responsibly" message. The poor spokesperson came undone when asked how somebody was supposed to drink a can of super strength lager responsibly.


Carlsberg Special Brew 9% 500ml 4.5 units.

EDIT: The product is clearly intended for alcoholics and even worse those who least likely to be able to obtain help.

MrTumble

Yes, totally agree.

I would like to see the amount of "units" displayed on the bottles, people still think a glass of wine is 1 unit, in reality its between 1.5 and 2, since wine ABV crept up to 13%.

hawkeyefan

I don't know..Maybe "Frequent excessive intake may lead to alcohol addiction"? When I first thought my drinking was becoming too frequent I would take the on-line quizzes "Do you think you have a drinking problem?" When I didn't answer yes to a lot of the questions, I figured I was o.k. What I didn't know, and what the quiz didn't mention was how quickly binge drinking, heavy drinking, frequent moderate drinking, can quickly turn to alcohol dependence and it's all down here from there!! Educationing people, especially young adults, that not everyone reacts to alcohol the same way and limiting how much you drink and how often is has important to your health as limiting fats, sugar, etc. If they has a campaign like the American Heart Association and ribbons, and walks for cirrhosis patients..etc. then maybe it would be taken more serious. But they don't because it's the alcoholics fault he/she ended up that way in the first place..Sorry, definitely rambling on, but I see so many young adults drinking to much on the weekends..And don't EVEN get me started on the way the US treats mental health issues!!! that go hand-n-hand with addicitions. Sorry for venting..