Vol. 553 No. 4
109 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will consider requesting companies in the alcoholic drinks business to include warnings of the dangers of over-consumption of alcohol on all their products. [14174/02]
110 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will consider requesting companies in the alcoholic drinks business to include universally recognised units of alcohol measure on all their products. [14175/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together.
I am particularly concerned at the increase in alcohol consumption in Ireland in recent years. Earlier this year I established the strategic task force on alcohol. It has made a number of recommendations aimed at reducing the overall level of consumption. The current position regarding the content of labels on alcoholic beverages is strictly regulated. The most recent development at EU level in relation to labels on alcoholic products is that all alcohol products must now display a list of ingredients. Research provided to the strategic task force suggested that there is very little evidence of any effect on drinking behaviour and alcohol related harm by placing warnings on alcohol beverage containers. The research evidence in this area will continue to be monitored.
While the term "unit" is used in the UK when discussing quantities of alcohol, the practice here and in most other jurisdictions is to refer to "standard drinks." Agreement has not been reached internationally to define the quantity of alcohol in a standard drink and currently there is no universally accepted measure. At present alcohol beverage containers are required to display the alcohol concentration and the volume of the beverage only. I would favour a requirement that the amount of alcohol in grams be displayed on the container. This has been raised at EU level but agreement has not yet been reached.
