A group of Members of Parliament (MPs) in Britain are pushing for compulsory health warnings on beer, wine and spirits containers to “raise awareness of the dangers of excessive drinking and the growing problem of liver disease,” according to The Guardian.
“The facts and figures of the scale of alcohol misuse in the UK speak for themselves,” said Conservative MP Tracey Crouch, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse. “1.2 million people a year are admitted to hospital due to alcohol; liver disease in those under 30 has more than doubled over the past 10 years; and the cost of alcohol to the economy totals £21bn.” Crouch’s report also suggests that issues of child abuse and domestic violence is tightly linked with alcohol. It states that “74% of child mistreatment cases in Britain are alcohol-related.”
Those are some serious numbers, and the UK’s officials are worried. On top of compulsory health warnings, Crouch and her peers have recommended a minimum unit price on alcohol, as well as “stronger regulations in alcohol marketing, a reduction in the drink-drive limit and the appointment of a single minister responsible for reducing “alcohol harms.”” [The Guardian] [Photo: Flickr/Maurice]