Ireland to label alcoholic drinks with health warnings
Plan faces opposition from the drinks industry and EU member states who say it will cause problems within the single market.
The Republic of Ireland is set to become the first country in the world to introduce health warning labels on alcohol products.
On Monday, Stephen Donnelly, the Irish minister for health, signed new regulations into law that will see labels placed on beverages such as drinking alcohol causes liver disease, harms the unborn baby, and is directly linked to fatal cancers.
The minister said that the new law is designed to give all consumers a better understanding of the alcohol content and health risks associated with consuming alcohol.
But not everyone is happy. Cormac Healy is Director of Drinks Ireland the country's main lobbying group for brewers, distillers and distributors. He told Newsday: “It’s inappropriate for Ireland to go on a solo run.” A sentiment shared by Irène Tolleret, a French MEP with Renew Europe a liberal party and co-chair of the parliamentary intergroup on Wine, Spirits and Quality Foodstuffs. She told Newsday: “It will be a hindrance for the common market…the response to excess drinking is not labelling…if there was a magic label, I can tell you it would already be on all the bottles of spirit in the world.”
(Picture: Shows a close-up shot of a woman choosing a bottle of champagne from a shelf in a supermarket. Credit: Getty Images.)
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