Tories pledge to change label info

Retailers are at the forefront of driving responsible attitudes towards alcohol in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium.

The BRC made the announcement in response to the UK Conservative Party’s proposal of scrapping the units of alcohol on alcoholic drink labels and replacing them with information detailing centilitres of pure alcohol.

The Conservative Party has stated there is too much confusion surrounding unit information and has recommended adopting a continental European approach whereby specific measures are outlined on labels instead.

As well as a change in measuring alcohol levels, the party is also suggesting a more detailed analysis of the contents of the product, including featuring the calorie content.

According to the BRC, recent research demonstrated that only half of all drinks contain unit information and less than a fifth have advice about sensible drinking levels.

However, Alcohol Concern said that while more information on labels is welcome, consumers in the UK are just starting to get to grips with the unit method.

The BRC supports this view, stating that there would need to be evidence that centilitres of alcohol labelling would be more effective than the well-established unit labelling system which, it states, is now on virtually all own-brand alcohol products and is increasingly gaining customer acceptance.

The BRC’s chief executive Stephen Robertson said of the news: “Retailers are already driving sensible attitudes to alcohol through initiatives, such as funding Drinkaware and Challenge 25, which prevents under-age sales. We believe in responsible drinking too.”

BRC members have already pledged a third of the £5 million that the drinks industry is providing to secure the future of Drinkaware, the independent body, paid for by the alcohol industry, which promotes responsible drinking and which encourages consumers to think about their alcohol consumption.

The Conservative Party proposals were part of a series of policies which were published in its new public health strategy.

Jane Parkinson, 18.01.10