Drink labelling and the ‘Sensible Drinking’ message; awareness and perceptions among supermarket shoppers in Scotland

Abstract

Sir, Within the UK eleven years on from the publication of the ‘Sensible drinking’ guidelines1, the social repercussions from the abuse of alcohol remain a major issue. Several government-led initiatives have ensued. One, the labelling of drink cans and bottles has been adopted in varying degrees. Unit labelling was introduced to the UK in 1998 on a voluntary basis, two years ago the government encouraged drink producers to add a sensible drinking message to their labels2.