Irish stout
The basic issue is economic: if people drank less, they would need reduced healthcare, although less tax would be collected via duties on alcohol
Andrew J. Linn
Friday, 16 June 2023, 16:24
It happened with tobacco products and now it's alcohol's turn. Ireland, not distinguished for innovating new procedures to reduce the consumption of Guinness, ... will be the first country in the world to mandate graphic health warnings on bottle labels.
But drinks producers complain that such a campaign is too sweeping. Alcohol is not always bad, and the occasional glass of wine may have health benefits - not like cigarettes. However, the basic issue is economic. If people drank less, they would need reduced healthcare, although less tax would be collected via duties on alcohol.
So, which is the lesser evil? Perhaps artificial intelligence can come to our rescue: if a million citizens stop consuming alcohol, how much duty is lost to the treasury, and how much would the national health service save? It is as simple as that. But what about the potential losses to the drinks producers?
French MEP Irène Tolleret said the Irish proposal sets a 'dangerous precedent' on the healthy functioning of the single market. The EU Commission should have opposed it when it had the opportunity. Legal action may be justified, she said, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has called the Irish plan an attack on his (wine-producing) country's identity and heritage.
"The Commission should intervene and bring the laws of a country back in line with the rules of the single market." Since the new labelling is not due to start until 2026, perhaps we will never see the proposed warnings like "There is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers" and "Drinking alcohol causes liver disease."
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