The Minister of Health and Social Services, Paula Risikko, has suggested abandoning, as a whole, the proposal to provide all containers of alcoholic beverages with labels warning the consumers of the health hazards of alcohol. The introduction of alcohol warning labels was passed by the Finnish Parliament last year and intended to begin at the beginning of next year. It was proposed that the labels should contain two warnings: alcohol damages the foetus and your health. EU Commission informed Finland that the general warning is not compatible with the relevant EU legislation.

According to the Commission's letter, the Commission is willing to continue the negotiations and will be ready to examine an alternative, more targeted, health warning, if Finland wishes. Finnish NGOs working on social and health issues reacted to the Minister's proposal of abandoning the labels by insisting that negotiations should be continued with the Commission. A statement about this was given to the Minister last week. It was signed by 17 nation-wide NGOs. The argument as to why the negotiations should continue and why alcoholic beverages should include warning labels is that alcohol is a harmful commodity and, according to the Finnish law on Consumer protection, people have the right to be informed about harmful effects of products. The Minister does not believe that warning labels can have an effect on drinking. The NGOs replied by pointing out, for example, the recent research results about the link between alcohol and cancer.

Risikko claims that she has never believed that the proposed warning labels would reduce the risks of alcohol or the number of alcohol abusers. She believes that the excessive use of alcohol can be reduced by effective education and the use of taxation to adjust prices of alcohol.

In the statement, it was also stipulated that the NGOs should be taken as early-stage partners when alcohol policy proposals are to be prepared and discussed. In her speech to the NGOs, the Minister replied that the health and temperance associations will be invited later to the round table discussion on effective information and education.