Methodist response to plans to label alcoholic drinks

Rachel Lampard, Methodist Secretary for Parliamentary andPolitical Affairs: "The Methodist Church welcomes the initiative toinclude health warnings on bottles of alcohol, a move for which ithas long campaigned. Under an agreement between the Government andthe drinks industry, alcohol packaging will contain informationabout the number of units a glass, can or bottle contains alongwith guidelines for maximum daily consumption for men andwomen.

"Better labelling will not be sufficient in itself to tackleexcessive drinking and the damage it causes. But giving peopleinformation about the number of units of alcohol they are consumingis a crucial part of helping them to make informed decisions aboutsensible drinking. This is particularly important at a time whenmany alcoholic drinks are becoming stronger. Some Methodists chooseto abstain from alcohol, while others drink moderately, but all areopposed to excessive drinking. "