Alcohol bottles to get health warning

May 29, 2007: The UK drinks industry and the Government has agreed that, from next year, all alcoholic drinks sold in this country will have to display health warnings on their labels.

The labels will show the number of alcohol units in the bottle's contents, and remind drinkers of the recommended daily intakes for men and women.

Public health minister Caroline Flint said: "We want to make it as simple as possible for people to keep an eye on how much they are drinking and help them take the responsibility for lessening the impact excess alcohol can have on their health.

"Although most spirits and beer labels for sale in the UK market and many supermarkets' own brands of beers, wines and spirits, do carry some information on unit content, people can miscalculate and lose track of how much they are drinking.

"Unit information combined with sensible drinking guidelines on the new labels will make it simpler for people to calculate how many units they are drinking and make easier for them to stick to the recommended limits."

It is recommended that men do not regularly exceed three to four units daily and women two to three units.