Calling for better alcohol labelling

Dear Secretary of State

We are writing to express our support for the inclusion of calorie and health information on alcohol product labels. We agree with you on the importance of consumer choice and that it is only fair to give individuals the right information to make good decisions about their food and drink. However, when it comes to alcohol, consumers are not currently provided with the information they need.

The majority of the public agrees and wants to know what is in their drinks, so we were disappointed to see how the Government’s plan to introduce better alcohol labelling was covered in parts of the media recently. New research shows that 75% of people want the number of units in a product on alcohol labels, 61% want calorie information, and 53% want the amount of sugar.

Displaying calorie information on alcohol labels can empower people to take control of their health. Alcohol is very energy dense, with a large glass of white wine having the equivalent calories as a slice of pizza. For those who drink, alcohol accounts for nearly 10% of the daily calorie intake, with around 3.4 million adults consuming an additional days’ worth of calories each week – totalling an additional two months of food each year. Yet, the majority of the public (80%) is unaware of the calorie content of common drinks.

In addition to calorie labelling, we support providing further health information on alcohol labels, including the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines. Alcohol is linked to 80 deaths a day in the UK, and yet, alcohol harm is poorly understood by drinkers: only one in five people know the drinking guidelines, and only one in ten can spontaneously identify cancer as a health consequence of alcohol. Alcohol labels are an effective tool to change that: a study in Canada showed that consumers exposed to health warnings on labels were three times more likely to be aware of the drinking guidelines, and were also more likely to know about the link between alcohol and cancer.

The current voluntary system of alcohol labelling is not working. Legislation is now necessary to empower consumers and provide transparency. Despite the Government’s efforts to encourage alcohol producers to reflect the drinking

guidelines on labels, research by the Alcohol Health Alliance shows that more than 70% of the labels reviewed did not include the up-to-date guidelines.

We commend the Government’s decision to consult on alcohol calorie labelling and encourage you to use this opportunity to include wider health information, such as the Chief Medical Officers’ drinking guidelines, to empower people to make informed health choices and reduce alcohol harm.