You're in the liquor aisle of your favorite store, or you're standing in front of the beer cooler. You already know that drinking can be hazardous to the your health because there are various warning labels.

• It's also not good for woman who are pregnant or nursing

• It can impair your operation of a vehicle

The labels in the current form have been around for about two decades now. How many of you even notice them? Have they ever stopped you from buying a bottle of win or a 12-pack of beer?

I think the labels are a good thing if they help even one person or stop even one person from drinking and driving. But I must admit, although I drink very sparingly, I do like a beer now and then during the hockey playoffs and I don't even think twice about the labels.

So what makes people think that nutritional labels on alcohol will help the consumer? Will such labels even become a reality?

Recently, The Associated Press reported that the Treasury Department, which regulates alcohol, said that beer, wine and spirits companies can use labels that include serving size, servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat per serving. Such package labels have never before been approved.

Some beer companies have been promoting lower-calorie beer for years now, and there must be a market, because those products are still around. So if a company can voluntarily add nutritional information, it might consider doing so. Heck, even some fast food companies have started to post calorie and other information.


Not all alcohol companies are expected to use labels, the AP reports. Among those that may take a pass are beer companies, which don't want consumers counting calories, and winemakers, which don't want to ruin the sleek look of their bottles. Still, the liquor companies want to advertise low calories and low carbohydrates in their products.

"This is actually bringing alcoholic beverages into the modern era," Guy Smith, an executive vice president at Diageo, the world's largest distiller and maker of such well-known brands as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo and Tanqueray, told the AP.

Diageo asked in 2003 for permission to add that information to its products as low-carbohydrate diets were gaining in popularity.

Of course, there are also consumer groups that want alcoholic drinks to have the same transparency as packaged foods. But some are worried that the inclusion of nutrients might actually make alcohol seem safer.

"Including fat and carbohydrates on a label could imply that an alcoholic beverage is positively healthful, especially when the drink's alcohol content isn't prominently labeled," said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

In my opinion, the labels will make little to now difference in most consumers' spending habits when it comes to alcohol. But again, if they help some people in some way, what do we have to lose except some esthetic appeal?
