Statement re: Alcoholic Beverage Warning Label Legislation

National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Wednesday, 1 April 1998

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the nation's oldest voluntary health organization dedicated to reducing the incidence and prevalence of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems, strongly supports Senator Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) new legislation to strengthen the health warnings on alcoholic beverage containers.

NCADD worked long and hard with Senator Thurmond and other members of Congress to get the current label enacted into law. We appreciate Senator Thurmond's efforts now to remind consumers that drinking alcohol, even in moderate doses (defined by the federal government as no more than one drink a day for women, or two drinks a day for men), can lead to a number of health-related problems, including alcoholism, breast cancer and hypertension.

One out of every ten drinkers suffers from alcoholism, an illness that devastates families and ruins careers. Heavy drinking can contribute to cancer of the esophagus, mouth, pharynx, and larynx. It also can enlarge the heart, and cause cirrhosis of the liver.

NCADD thanks Senator Thurmond for his continued efforts to reduce the incidence and prevalence of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems by introducing this legislation. We look forward to working with him to see it enacted.

For more information, or to contact National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, see their website at: www.ncadd.org