Mandatory labelling of alcohol containers with a health warning about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy is to be introduced.
Drinks Manufacturers Ireland (DMI), the umbrella body for the industry, confirmed yesterday it had agreed to the health warning, which will apply to all alcohol containers sold in the Republic.
The message will be carried in an image of a pregnant woman with a diagonal red line and/or a written warning.
The industry has also agreed to introduce labels that will specify the number of units of alcohol in a product. This will allow consumers to compute their alcohol consumption more easily, and to compare it to the recommended weekly limit of 21 units for men and 14 for women.
The changes were agreed recently by a working group examining alcohol labelling. It was set up as part of an initiative under social partnership to examine the problem of alcohol misuse.
It made 29 recommendations in the areas of drink-driving, underage drinking and binge drinking, which are due to be implemented by the end of this year.
Aside from the changes in labelling, the proposals include a new code of practice for off-licences, new policies in alcohol misuse in the workplace and a responsible-server programme.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of prenatal drinking of alcohol in the EU. Research published by the Coombe hospital found that 60 per cent of women consume alcohol while pregnant. About one in 10 pregnant women consumed more than six units a week.
Earlier this year the State's chief medical officer, Dr James Kiely, issued what he called "unambiguous" advice that alcohol consumption by pregnant women posed a risk to the foetus, and that there was no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
"Given the harmful drinking patterns in Ireland and the propensity to 'binge drink', there is a substantial risk of neurological damage to the foetus resulting in foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)," Dr Kiely said.
Rosemary Garth, director of DMI, said the new labels were designed to give consumers better information to make decisions about their alcohol consumption. Legislation would have to be introduced to give effect to the changes, which will be mandatory for all products sold in the Republic.
Ms Garth insisted that alcohol, when consumed moderately, could form part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but acknowledged there were valid concerns about the misuse of alcohol.
"We will be guided by Government advice on drinking in pregnancy, so if that advice is that it's better for women not to drink then, we'll go along with it."
