Alcohol labelling continues to fail consumers as new research reveals vital health information is left off most packaging
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Alcohol shelves surveyed in the NE and across the country
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7/10 NE adults would support a health warning on alcohol
CAMPAIGNERS are warning that consumers are being failed by alcohol labelling and left to drink in the dark with little information such as health warnings, ingredients, calories, sugar content or nutritional information on products.
Balance with colleagues at the Alcohol Health Alliance UK (AHA) – a coalition of more than 60 organisations working together to end alcohol harm – is now calling for the Government to make it a legal requirement for alcohol companies to display nutritional information and health warnings on their products.
In a new report, the AHA examined 369 alcohol products at locations across the UK including here in the North East to find out what information is available to consumers on alcohol labels.
Key findings:
- Just 20% of the products examined provided the full list of ingredients
- 41% of products stated calorie content
- 6% of products displayed sugar content
- 5% of products provided full nutritional information
- 65% of products included the up-to-date CMO drinking guidelines
- 3% of products included a general health warning
Despite this, a survey by Balance has found that 7/10 (72%) of North East adults would support a general health warning on alcohol and 66% support listing ingredients, while over half would support calorie content (54%) and a warning that alcohol causes cancer (53%).
In the UK, alcoholic drinks are only required to display the volume and strength (in ABV) and common allergens on labels. Information on nutritional values (including calories and sugar content), ingredients, or health warnings is not required and is therefore largely absent from labels.
Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said: “People have a right to know what their drinks contain and the risks of drinking, even if this is just to make informed decisions.
“The fact is evidence is now clear that alcohol causes seven types of cancer, is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke, and is full of calories. But unlike tobacco it contains no information about health and people are left in the dark.
“Most North Easterners back the introduction of compulsory health warning labels and want to know what they’re consuming. We are urging the Government to intervene and force alcohol companies to display the official guidelines and health warnings on their product labels.”
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Alcohol Policy Lead for the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: “Alcohol causes immense harm in terms of deaths, disease and addiction. We know many people are drinking more since the pandemic, and while cheap alcohol is driving this harm, it is appalling that alcohol companies have been able to provide so little information on their products that could enable people to make healthier decisions.
Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health for Gateshead and Alcohol Policy Lead for the Association of Directors of Public Health
“We need to see action to give the public clear information, as well as a proper national strategy to tackle the scale of harm from cheap alcohol, relentless advertising and widespread availability.”
This contrasts with all other food and drink products which are required to provide information on nutritional values and ingredients. In May, the Government also made it a requirement for calories to be displayed on most restaurant menus as part of its drive to reduce obesity. Alcoholic drinks were exempt from these requirements – despite alcohol accounting for nearly 10% of a drinker’s daily calorie intake. [1]
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “Alcohol’s continued exemption to the rules and standards followed by the rest of the food and drinks industry is detrimental to our health. Alcohol is not only a risk factor for cancer but it’s fuelling obesity – with some alcoholic drinks containing more calories than a Mars bar [2] and others containing more than double your recommended daily sugar intake [3]. Given the choice, most alcohol producers are leaving this vital information off the labels, keeping consumers in the dark about what’s in the products they are drinking.
“Those who profit from the sale of alcohol cannot be trusted to willingly provide product information. Legislation on alcohol labelling must ensure that consumers have the full picture of the contents and risk to health of the products they buy through Government making clear labelling on all alcohol products a legal requirement. This information can reduce alcohol harm by increasing knowledge of the health risks associated with alcohol and prompting behaviour change.”
Why do we need better alcohol labelling?
Alcohol labels are an effective tool in informing consumers about what is in their drink. 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 more likely to know the link between alcohol and cancer [4].
A recent University of Stirling study found that young adult drinkers are more likely to perceive alcohol products as “unappealing” if they display prominent health warnings [5]. The findings of the research indicate warnings could lead to a reduction in consumption and related harms.
Better labelling and the need for transparency is vital to allow people to make informed decisions, particularly where there is such wide variation between similar products.
Earlier this year, research from the Alcohol Health Alliance exposed the wide range of sugar content in wine as laboratory analysis of different products revealed that wine can contain anywhere between 0 and 15 teaspoons of free sugars per bottle [6].
Industry self-regulation has continued to fail to provide consumers with information needed to help them to make informed choices about their drinking. More than a third of alcohol product labels fail to inform consumers of the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guideline, despite the alcohol industry agreeing to update labels to display this guideline by September 2019.
In 2020, the UK Government committed to holding a consultation on whether to include calorie information on alcohol product labelling. Information on sugar content and ingredients is not included in the plans. Almost two years on, the consultation is yet to be published.
What do the public think?
Not only do the public have a right to know what is in their drink, they also want to know.
A 2021 survey published by the Alcohol Health Alliance and conducted by YouGov found 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. [7]
References
- [1] RSPH Alcohol calorie labelling https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/policy/drugs/alcohol-calorie-labelling-.html
- [2] AHA wine suvey (2022) https://ahauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Wine-survey-2022-results-1.pdf
- [3] Action on Sugar (2020) https://www.actiononsugar.org/media/actiononsugar/Alcohol-Survey-Report.pdf
- [4] University of Victoria Media Release (2020) Alcohol warning labels reduce sales, change minds.
- [5] Jones, D. et al (2022) The role of alcohol packaging as a health communications tool: An online cross-sectional survey and experiment with young adult drinkers in the United Kingdom
- [6] Alcohol Health Alliance (2022) https://ahauk.org/news/sugar-content-in-wine-revealed-health-experts-deem-alcohol-labelling-woefully-inadequate/
- [7] YouGov Plc. The YouGov survey was conducted on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health and published by the Alcohol Health Alliance. Total sample size was 12247 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18/02/2021 – 18/03/2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).