Tim Loughton MP has co-sponsored a backbench bill, along with colleagues across the political spectrum, to introduce statutory labelling on alcoholic beverages warning of the negative effects that drinking while pregnant can have. The proposals, if passed, would require the establishment of a statutory scheme providing for clear and consistent labelling of alcoholic beverages as they relate to foetal health and safety and that of pregnant women. The negative effects on a child of drinking during pregnancy can range from reduced intellectual ability and attention deficit disorder to heart problems and premature death. Many children experience serious behavioural and social difficulties that last a lifetime. Seven thousand children a year are born in the UK damaged by alcohol, one in every 100 births. The scientific evidence suggests that there is no safe limit when it comes to drinking in pregnancy but that not everyone is aware of the dangers. The Chief Medical Officer has said that 'Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should avoid alcohol altogether'.' The National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service have said that there is no way to know for sure what impact drinking alcohol might have on an unborn baby and the amount of alcohol that effects one maybe different to the amount that effects another.
Current provision in the UK consists of a voluntary system of labelling but not all alcohol containers feature a warning, and there is also the vital question of how effective the labels are. The label that is used is only a few millimetres high, and is supposed to show a picture of a pregnant woman taking a drink with a line crossed through the picture to suggest that the woman should not be drinking alcohol. The Bill seeks to improve upon this situation to introduce something similar to the labelling systems used in Canada and the US. These countries enforce labels on all containers of alcohol and include the message 'Women should not drink alcohol while pregnant or trying to conceive.' Commenting, Tim said 'While many women choose not to drink while pregnant, advice about the risks of drinking on the babies they are carrying often does not get through or is at best misleading. Few appreciate the number of babies born with problems relating to alcohol. I have visited children’s homes in places like Denmark full of children born to alcohol dependant mothers and they are then saddled with mental and physical disabilities for life. Changing the labelling is only part of the answer but if every container of alcohol had a clear warning message advising that pregnant women should be aware of the possible effects of alcohol that could only be a good thing and empower women to make better informed choices. Clearly more needs to be done to educate and inform families who are trying to conceive, or are going through pregnancy, about the negative effects that alcohol can have on a foetus.' The bill will be read a second time and debated on Friday 6th March.