Booze warning labels worked in U.S., says researcher after Yukon cautions pulled
VANCOUVER — A United States researcher involved in a study on alcohol warning labels in Yukon that was halted after pushback from the liquor industry says caution messages have proven effective elsewhere.
Thomas Greenfield, a leading scientist investigating the impacts of liquor on human health, says warning labels in the United States have increased awareness around drunk driving and drinking while pregnant.
The U.S. enacted a law in 1989 requiring alcoholic beverages to carry a standard government warning. The industry had previously fought efforts to introduce warning labels, but there were growing concerns at the time about fetal alcohol syndrome, said Greenfield.
“The industry essentially ended up taking up the position they wouldn’t fight it,” said Greenfield, scientific director of the California-based Alcohol Research Group.