Alcoholic Drinks: Labelling
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing mandatory health labelling on alcoholic drinks on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
In ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’, the Government has committed to strengthen and expand on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future
Currently there is voluntary guidance on communicating the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers' low risk drinking guideline, which recommends labels include info that to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, and to include a warning against drinking during pregnancy. The Department has commissioned a National Institute for Health and Care Research study on understanding the impact of alcohol calorie labelling on alcohol and calorie selection, purchasing, and consumption. This study is due to report in 2026.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →