FRANCE: The French government has told drinks manufacturers to add labels warning women against consuming alcohol during pregnancy, its latest move to alert the French to the dangers of drink.
The call comes amid a government crackdown on drink-driving and after a state prosecutor launched an inquest into whether the drinks sector can be held legally responsible for damage to foetuses caused by their mothers' drinking.
"Drinking while pregnant is overly risky for the foetus, it is indeed the major cause of mental retardation," the Health Minister, Mr Philippe Douste-Blazy, a former doctor, told reporters.
The labels should recommend total abstinence for pregnant women, he said.
Until now France has insisted only that drinks advertising should carry such warnings.
Reactions from the drinks industry were frosty. "Drinking during pregnancy is a serious problem which needs serious debate rather than just attempts to grab the headlines," said Mr Jerome Agostini, head of wine industry group CNIV. He suggested public information campaigns targeted at pregnant women might be more effective than labels. - (Reuters)