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Warning Label in Alcohol

Discussion in 'Alcohol' started by Vinaya, Mar 11, 2016.

  1. Vinaya

    Vinaya Community Champion

    Cigarette packets contain warning label. The warning reads "Statutory Warning: Smoking Causes Cancer"
    In our country the government has mandatory for cigarette companies to have a picture of damaged lungs on the packet. However, alcohol despite being as harmful as cigarette, there is no warning label.
  2. darkrebelchild

    darkrebelchild Community Champion

    The very interesting thing is that, whether there is a warning label or not, it does not stop those consuming it. All cigarette adverts carry this warning and it is written on the packets but smokers keep increasing. The same goes for alcohol; if only we humans could be sensible enough to adhere to keeping ourselves healthy, we could live longer than we normally do.
    Momma9 likes this.
  3. Momma9

    Momma9 Community Champion

    There is a warning label on alcohol in the US. But that is not going to stop an alcoholic, or anyone else, from drinking. I think most everyone knows that certain things can be bad for you, but it is hard to have the self-control needed to avoid them. I do not need the government to tell me what is safe and what is not.
  4. MrsJones

    MrsJones Community Listener Community Listener

    @Momma9 would that warning be "Drink Responsibly?" I see this a lot on advertising in magazines, billboards, etc. which is much the same as 'Play Responsibly" when one plays the lottery or any type of gambling activity.
  5. yaitsjonny

    yaitsjonny Member

    Is drinking alcohol just as dangerous as smoking cigarettes though? If you were to smoke a cigarette everyday for the next ten years, it may be guaranteed that you may get some form of cancer. Yet, if you were to drink a glass of wine everyday before bed, is it necessarily that harmful? The reason that there is no warning label may be because of the variety of potential health effects.
  6. Momma9

    Momma9 Community Champion

    @MrsJones Here it is.

    [​IMG]

    @yaitsjo I agree that drinking alcohol is not necessarily unhealthy. Some world cultures regularly drink wine or beer at meals - even children! Here in the states we are kind of stupid and need to be told what might be bad for us :rolleyes:
    MrsJones likes this.
  7. MrsJones

    MrsJones Community Listener Community Listener

    Thanks @Momma9. I don't drink so I wouldn't have known that a warning label was actually on alcoholic beverages.
  8. Jack Wallace

    Jack Wallace Senior Contributor

    Thе lаbеlling оf аlсоhоliс drinks is mоrе еthiсаlly соmрliсаtеd thаn thе lаbеlling оf сigаrеttеs. Sinсе thе imрасt оf аlсоhоl оn hеаlth is nоn-linеаr, thе intrоduсtiоn оf sоmе (nеgаtivе) hеаlth infоrmаtiоn sееms tо rеquirе thе intrоduсtiоn оf аll (nеgаtivе аnd роsitivе) hеаlth infоrmаtiоn if thе gоаl rеаlly is tо рrоmоtе thе соnsumеr’s right tо mаkе infоrmеd dесisiоns аbоut thе рrоduсts s/hе рurсhаsеs
  9. kgord

    kgord Community Champion

    Everyone knows what alcohol can do as they know what cigarettes can do. It is an interesting point you raise, but I don't think warning labels on cigarettes or alcohol will stop anyone from using the substances. I mean how many people have ever stopped and read a label on the product, and said, Hey, maybe I should not use this. Once you are in the store buying, you have made up your mind.
    MrsJones likes this.
  10. SashaS

    SashaS Community Champion

    The same way you cannot advertise cigarettes, but there are more alcohol ads on t.v then any other kind of ad where I live. Authorities and companies don't consider it as harmful and addictive, even though it is. They do say "Not sold to individuals under the age of 18, enjoy responsibly." But the irony in that is that they say "ENJOY responsibly," which is an advertisement in itself, stating how you will enjoy alcohol.

    A warning label with a smart and short sentence won't exactly be very easy to make though. You can't exactly make a whole list about all the negative effects on a little label, so manufacturers have to come up with something smart to put on the bottle.
  11. pwarbi

    pwarbi Community Champion

    Do these warnings labels on alcohol make any difference though? Warning labels have been on cigarette packets for a long time now, but people still smoke, just as they always did.

    All these labels do is protect the companies because at least if somebody does now suffer from alcohol, the manufacturers can say they did warn us, so their hands are clean.
  12. JoshPosh

    JoshPosh Community Champion

    Probably because most law makes and activist are still drinking more alcohol then smoking. That's the best reason I could come up with. We will see a shift in things only when politicians are affected directly when someone in their family dies from alcohol related incident.
  13. Mara

    Mara Community Champion

    I never noticed that until you pointed it out. But warning label or no, people will still do what they want to do. I do not think that visual warnings are enough to deter people from smoking or drinking. It's always the person's choice. If he wants to live a healthy lifestyle, even without those warnings, he will stay away from those substances.
  14. LovesBigFool

    LovesBigFool Active Contributor

    Not solely a matter of informing the ignorant. The warning label is a nearly direct result of the ability to sue.

    If there is the ability to sue, the lawyers want a piece of the pie. It is fairly promonent in our society (USA) for there to be warning and disclaimers in every nook and cranny of product sales and also of services for sale.

    Not likely that consumers read the warning anyway. Hence the discussion assuming there is no warning was accepted as a fact, while apparently there is one.
    Momma9 likes this.
  15. Vinaya

    Vinaya Community Champion

    Wine contains around 10-12 percent alcohol, beer contain around 5-7 percent alcohol and normal spirit contain around 40 percent alcohol, thus, how much damaging is the alcoholic drink yo are taking depends on the types of beverage. Having said that since alcohol is harmful for the body, there should be some sort of warnings
  16. Tremmie

    Tremmie Community Champion

    In my country they don't have those labels in alcoholic drink bottles. It's odd, one would think they'd think that by this time they'd add a label to alcoholic drinks in my country, but they haven't. I guess they never will :( They started using that kind of labels on cigarette packets, but no scary and graphic images :(
  17. henry

    henry Community Champion

    Us humans have a natural tendency to get excited by anything we consider dangerous. That's why you see people bungee jumping, sky diving, mountain climbing, etc. This is what Freud called eros and thanatos. So, sometimes sticking a warning label on something can cause the opposite effect on people.
  18. zaerine

    zaerine Community Champion

    Never heard of putting warning signs on alcoholic beverages here mainly because mostly think that moderate drinking is just okay. Some even claimed that alcoholic beverages can give benefits if just a glass or two.