Ireland is hoping to bring in health
warnings on alcoholic drinks, including wine bottles, similar to
those on cigarette packets within two or three months after
getting the all-clear from the European Commission for its
controversial plan, an Irish government official has said.
Italy and other wine-making countries such as France and Spain
are staunchly opposed to the labels, which warn of links to
cancer and harm for the liver due to excessive consumption.
Claire Gordon, manager of the tobacco and alcohol control unit
at the Irish Department of Health, told Euractiv that Dublin was
"very grateful and indeed somewhat surprised" that the EU had
given the green light to the plan.
"Clearly what we're doing is a breach of the single market in
some way, in the sense that we're looking for extra changes to a
product compared to the way it's sold in other countries," she
said.
"Hopefully within two to three months, we'll be able to kick off
this law and then the next thing is for everybody else to
follow".
Gordon said notifying the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about
the label plan would be among the next steps.
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