Will shocking health-warning labels deter alcohol abuse?
View Point , Shimla: Jul 12 2008
Made Popular Jul 12 2008
United Kingdom :

Will shocking health-warning labels deter alcohol abuse?

Doctors in UK are calling for shocking graphic images of diseased livers on bottles of alcohol to warn people of the dangers of binge drinking. They’ve suggested to put posters of babies damaged by foetal alcohol syndrome in bars and pubs. Alcohol consumption had apparently doubled since 1960 in UK.

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1 Stars
Disagree
Grace
Quezon City, Philippines
No. These ’shocking’ whatever will only increase the users’ level of immunity to such graphics. After a short while, those things will not at all.

Only an increase in ’sin’ tax on alcohol can slow down those who buy it because alcohol producers will pass on the added cost to consumers.
1 Stars
Disagree
No. It won’t deter people from reaching out to wines and whisky bottles. Now it has become a norm to celebrate with a bottle of champagne. And alcohol is a solace to sad and depressed souls.
It is an indulgence related to emotional state which cannot be stopped with shocking health warnings.
An addict will always overlook such warnings. Others will be over-confident that they are within limits and will gladly say ’Cheers’.
1 Stars
Disagree
Aneez
Mumbai, India
Maybe it will have some marginal effect on the novice but the dedicated drunkards will not pay any attention to such things. In fact, I’m 100% sure, they will take this thing lightly and turn the graphic images into a hot topic at the table!

Instead of stirring an empty vessel, doctors should concentrate on something that will really help control the situation.

On a different note, it is purely unethical of the doctors to use alcohol bottles or the pubs and bars as their playground to shout against alcohol. They should create a separate platform if they want to fight this thing.

What if a group decides to hire a hospital or a doctor’s dispensary to air their views on the unethical practices adopted by doctors?? Will the doctors allow this to happen?

I’m serious!!
1 Stars
Agree
Leena Komarraju
Kolkata, India
Though I agree that shocking images will be ineffective in discouraging alcohol addicts from drinking, I would like to point out that the methodology mentioned in the viewpoint is being used for discouraging binge drinking in college students who indulge in these activities only to experience it and also out of peer pressure. Many of these students don’t indulge in these activities out of any psychological stress and they are not addicted to this for years to find it difficult to leave. Since these students are teenagers or young adults, awareness of the harmful effects through images or better still through counseling sessions can be expected to have a significant impact on their outlook towards the habit.
1 Stars
Disagree
Yash
Bhopal, India
It will not work for regular or moderate drinkers. It may deter some of those from having the first sip ever who have never drank alcohol before and are thinking to give it a try, but only some of them.
1 Stars
Disagree
Holeya
Al-Manamah, Bahrain
It never worked with graphic picture cancerous lungs on cigarette packets in the West that anyway started coming with very strong health warnings. Smokers could never give up smoking seeing those images. Only effect that those pictures had were on youngsters who never tried smoking before.
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