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| Tuesday, 8 June 2010 |
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Call for alcohol warnings to mums
By FoodWeek Online @ 8:26 AM
1 Comments  Research and Foodscience-News
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One in three Australian women are drinking while pregnant or breastfeeding, prompting health experts to renew calls for health advisory labels on all alcohol products.
An Alcohol Education & Rehabilitation Foundation survey released this week says the labels would provide an instant reminder of the risks to the health of mothers and babies.
"These labels would better inform consumers and help prevent harms, such as fetal alcohol syndrome," it added. "The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can contribute to miscarriage, prematurity, small babies who are more prone to illness, slow growth and development or even still-birth.
“At the moment, there is more information on a carton of milk than on a bottle of alcohol. People have the right to know what they are drinking and how it can impact their health and their baby’s health, so that they can make more informed decisions about the drinks they purchase and consume,” said John Rogerson, CEO of the Australian Drug Foundation.
The survey showed that expectant or new mothers have an awareness of the dangers alcohol poses to their babies, however health labels would provide an instant reminder of the risks.
“Health labels can play a role in influencing consumer behaviour because they target people at that critical point of decision-making, in this case when they buy alcohol and when they drink it,” said Rogerson.
At least 43 countries already require some form of on-product labelling, with 14 of these having mandatory health labels primarily around alcohol use and pregnancy.
Australian alcohol companies aren’t required to list ingredients on their products or display labels about the associated risk of disease or illness. “There is no reason why alcohol, which is inherently harmful, is subject to less regulation in this regard than a carton of milk,” said Todd Harper, CEO of VicHealth. “The community wants the Government to make health information and labels mandatory rather than a voluntary system implemented by the alcohol industry.”
Source: Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation |
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| Comments |
 By
Janet Hammill @
Wednesday, 9 June 2010 3:41 PM
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There are more alcohol related deficits caused to the foetus than just Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) which can only occur during one critical point of time in the pregnancy. Given there are approximately 270 days where the unborn can be exposed to alcohol, a number of brain-based defects that can occur across that time. Such abnormalities are referred to under an umbrella term, Fetal Acohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
Unfortunately the disabilities caused by alcohol exposure may not manifest until puberty and then significant and lifelong behavioural problems become apparent. Often this is seen in low school achievement, early school dropout due to poor literacy and numeracy, young parenting because fertility cannot be managed or is not considered a problem, involvement with the criminal justice system because of lack of impulse control, being easily lead, having no empathy, not learning from mistakes and so on.
As the deputy chair of AER, Scott Wilson states "there is no safe level of drinking for mothers-to-be".
It even looks like fathers will have to watch their alcohol consumption in the months piror to conception too given recent epigenetic research findings. For the thousands already afflicted by alcohol exposure before birth, it all looks too hard and so the addiction to drinking is not curbed and another generation of even more greatly afflicted individuals are born into the same cycle of suboptimal life outcomes.
These are the dysfunctional behaviours being witnessed every day by teachers, police, courts and other human services. The solution needs to be immediate and across every discipline, age level and community service. Alcohol manufacturers, like the tobacco industry, have to show some stewardship and own the massive problems they are causing in our society by failing their responsibilities for what is potentially a physically destructive product. Most importantly, contributing to under development of foetal brains are gross breaches of the Rights of the Child whether it is parental drinking or the failure of the alcohol producers to take responsibility for adequate warning labels on their bottles. It began with the sale of alcohol and reparation should start from there.
The quickest way to fix it may be via a large class action.
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