Should packaged alcohol display health warnings?

A study shows that only 5 per cent of Australians are able to identify safe drinking levels, reports the Weekend Sydney Morning Herald. Winemakers understand why some people like the idea of health warnings on alcohol containers. It’s simple, consistent, gets the message onto the product itself and is easy for policy makers to implement and monitor. The problem is that warning labels don’t change drinking habits. Instead they impose unnecessary restrictions and costs on producers and take a simplistic approach to dealing with a complex problem, writes Stephen Strachan of Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.