Lobbying for labels

When consuming large amounts of alcohol, students often count drinks (and pong cups) but can only guess when they try to count calories. However, if nutritional interest groups have it their way, alcoholic beverages will soon have all the facts right on the label.

‘ A coalition of interest groups, which includes the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumer Federation of America and Shape Up America, is taking the opportunity of a new administration to address Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the issue.

The purpose adding nutritional labels on alcoholic beverages is to provide people with the information they need when making decisions about what and how much to drink, CFA Food Policy Institute Director Chris Waldrop said.

‘Everything people consume, including food, medicine and dietary supplements, has a nutritional label, with the exception of alcoholic beverages,’ Waldrop said. ‘Over-consumption of alcohol is a public health problem. Our hope is that if consumers have access to information about proper serving sizes, they will make healthier decisions.’

Currently, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulates alcohol labels and packaging. However, the regulation is missing the requirement for amount of alcohol per serving, which public health groups deem essential, he said.

‘We’ve asked the new administration to look at this regulation, improve upon it and put it out as a requirement,’ Waldrop said.

Although advocates said nutritional labels may reduce over-consumption of alcohol, some specialists disagree. Jeanna Tachiki, a clinical dietitian at the Boston Medical Center, said access to information about serving sizes would not necessarily reduce cases of alcohol poisoning among students.

‘It would provide more detailed support that binge drinking is not healthy,’ she said. ‘But . . . the time someone is at risk of alcohol poisoning, their decision making is not based on rational behavior or interpretation of nutrition facts.’

Tachiki said she hopes this information will help light to moderate drinkers make more educated decisions, but its success depends on how the information is presented and interpreted.

‘For students who are trying to eat healthier, the labels would be very helpful,’ she said. ‘They would demonstrate all the empty calories in alcohol.’

Liz Cohen, a bar tender at An Tua Tua, a South Campus bar, said customers usually don’t take calories into consideration when they order drinks.’ For example, few people request Miller 64, a low-calorie beer, she said.

‘Customers very rarely, if ever, ask about nutritional information when ordering drinks,’ she said. ‘I don’t think putting labels will have any effect on what people drink. In general, they understand that alcohol is not healthy and drink it anyway.’

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Alex Skillin said calorie information would have no effect on his preferences.

‘I don’t think it would make me, and young guys in general, drink any less,’ he said.

CAS sophomore Troy Stedman said he agreed.

‘Once people have a couple of drinks, they forget about the calories,’ he said.

Kyle Kampa, also a CAS sophomore, said his friends look out for alcohol calories, so knowing the nutritional facts would be helpful.

‘Every time I attend a party, everyone’s drinking light beer,’ he said. ‘Putting labels could help deter the health-conscious people from drinking as much, or at least encourage them to drink the low-cal beverages.’