The other problem with health warnings is that whereas there is no minimum safe level of tobacco consumption and no health benefits from its use, the same is not true for alcohol. Whereas excessive consumption is definitely detrimental to your health, low to moderate consumption has certain health benefits, such as -
From the
Mayo Clinic website. -
Medical Daily adds increased life expectancy, reduced risk of erectile disruption and dementia to the list. It's apparently even good for fighting off the common cold. Seriously, it wouldn't take much of a campaign to make booze sound like a miracle drug...
If the government wants to put health warnings on alcoholic drinks about the dangers of excessive consumption it's a certainty that the producers will fight back by putting even larger notices about the benefits of moderate consumption, and how would you stop them?