A new study upset French wine producers on Thursday by calling for wine bottles to carry public health warnings to combat alcohol abuse.
A report drawn up for the Health Ministry recommended that French wine bottles should carry labels similar to those on packets of cigarettes to help fight alcoholism, which it said affects one in 10 people in France.
The study could cause another hangover for French wine producers who are struggling to cope with falling consumption in France and stiff competition from "New World" rivals such as Australia and Chile.
"We must stop considering (alcohol) as a product like any other, which is sold like a baguette," Herve Chabalier told Le Parisien newspaper before presenting his report to Health Minister Xavier Bertrand.
"It's not a question of telling people 'Don't drink', but to inform them about what alcohol really is -- a drug," said Chabalier, a journalist and former alcoholic.
The report, obtained by Reuters, also calls for better information for young people about the risks of alcohol.
France's conservative government has been torn between its duty to promote public health and its desire to support the French wine industry.
Earlier this year, the government allowed an easing of tough alcohol advertising laws, hoping new rules permitting adverts with a splash of color would help the sector.
But Bertrand has also said he wants labels on bottles, to warn pregnant women of the dangers of alcohol consumption. These labels are to become compulsory next year.
"TREAT WINE LIKE CIGARETTES"
Chabalier wants the labels to go further, reading "Alcohol consumption is endangering your health." But winemakers say such a measure would be pointless.
"It's ridiculous," said Marie-Christine Tarby from the Vin et Societe lobby group for the wine industry.
"This would reduce alcohol to the same as cigarettes, whereas the two are completely different. If you drink alcohol in moderation, you face no risks to your health. There are even benefits."
Roland Feredj, from the Bordeaux Wine Trade Council, said it was important to inform young people about the risks attached to excess drinking but that labels on bottles would not do that.
"You are trying to create an atmosphere of fear. But a policy of fear and bans does not work," he said, noting that French winemakers had this year welcomed the creation of a council to develop work to prevent alcohol abuse.
France and Italy are the world's top winemakers, with France accounting for around a fifth of world production, but New World countries have been increasing their market share.
France's wine sector -- a pillar of life that provides some 75,000 jobs -- has also suffered as the French have become more health conscious. Over the last 40 years, alcohol consumption per head has decreased by over a third in France.
Seven percent of French people consume alcohol excessively, a study by statistics office INSEE showed this month. It found that well-educated people tend to hit the bottle more often.
http://health.yahoo.com/news/141289
