In a letter to Secretary-Designate Geithner, four leading public interestgroups -- Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation ofAmerica, National Consumers League and Shape Up America! -- used the fifthanniversary of an unanswered petition originally sent to the Alcohol andTobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on December 16, 2003 to press for"meaningful change" in how the Treasury Department regulates alcohol labeling.Summarizing a record of more than 30 years of inaction by TTB and itspredecessor agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), theorganizations reported overwhelming public support for a standardized "AlcoholFacts" panel on all beer, wine and distilled spirits products listing suchbasic information as the serving size, calories per serving, alcohol contentper serving, and the definition of a "standard drink." Additionally, thepetition sought the inclusion of the Dietary Guidelines' definition ofmoderate, or low-risk, alcohol consumption on product labels. Today, alcoholicbeverages are the only major category of consumable products not required tocarry label information summarizing these basic characteristics of theproduct.

"Right now, consumers really have no way of knowing the most basicinformation about alcoholic beverages," said Chris Waldrop, Director of theFood Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. "It's time to endthe confusion by giving Americans the same helpful and easily accessiblelabeling information that is now required for conventional foods, dietarysupplements, and nonprescription drugs."

George Hacker, Director of CSPI's Alcohol Policies Project, called on TTB,which regulates alcohol labeling, to develop labels that will be helpful toconsumers in measuring and moderating their alcohol consumption. "The Foodand Drug Administration, which has administered the development ofcomprehensive nutrition labeling on foods and non-alcoholic beverages, hassubstantial expertise in constructing and designing labels that consumers willunderstand and use. TTB should consult with FDA and rely on its experience ingenerating effective consumer labels."

Documenting the public health need for TTB action, the letter summarizesthe consensus among nutrition, medical and substance abuse experts that readyaccess to labeling information is an important tool for reducing alcoholabuse, drunk driving, and the many diseases attributable to excessive alcoholintake. This includes the facts needed to follow the Dietary Guidelines'advice that men who choose to drink limit their consumption to two drinks aday and that women restrict their consumption to one drink per day. As statedin the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, the consumption of alcoholicbeverages may have beneficial effects for some consumers when consumed inmoderation, but alcohol is a significant source of calories and can increasethe risk for hypertension, liver disease and certain cancers, as well asinjury if consumed in excess.

"There is no debate within the public health and nutrition community aboutthe need for mandatory and complete alcohol labeling," said Dr. Barbara J.Moore, President and CEO of Shape Up America! "Today's labeling requirementsfor alcoholic beverages are outdated and they don't demonstrate the nationalleadership that is critically needed to address the growing epidemic ofobesity."

Due to the current lack of leadership, the organizations point to one ofthe consequences of not requiring consistent and comprehensive alcohollabeling: most Americans have no idea what constitutes a "standard drink,"which the Dietary Guidelines defines as 12 fluid ounces of regular beer, 5fluid ounces of wine and 1.5 fluid ounces of 80-proof (40 percent) distilledspirits. According to a recent survey commissioned by the National ConsumersLeague, 54 percent of Americans don't know there is such a thing as a"standard drink," even though a large majority of state drivers' licensemanuals and national and state public health agencies use the "standard drink"definition to explain responsible drinking.

"It shouldn't take a calculator for consumers to tell how many 'standarddrinks' are in a particular product or to determine how much alcohol they areactually consuming," said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the NationalConsumers League. "On behalf of the nation's public health and nutritionorganizations, consumer advocates, leading public health officials andconsumers themselves, we say it is time for the government to issue a usefulfinal regulation requiring alcohol labeling."

While continuing to press for a useful final regulation on alcohollabeling, the four public interest organizations are taking steps to fill thevoid by providing consumers with information about alcohol content and whatconstitutes moderate drinking. Especially during the holidays, Americansshould have these facts:

* When it comes to drinking alcohol, the old adage is true: It doesn't matter what you drink, it's really how much that counts. Don't kid yourself into thinking beer or wine is "safer" or less "potent" than the "hard stuff." * One of the most important tips about responsible drinking is to know how much you are drinking. So, remember, 12 ounces of regular beer has the same amount of alcohol as five ounces of wine and an ounce and a half of distilled spirits. * Alcohol affects women differently than men. Besides producing less of the enzyme responsible for breaking down alcohol, women generally have a lower percentage of natural body water than men, which means alcohol levels are more concentrated and women are likely to feel the effects (including the onset of alcohol-related diseases) sooner. In light of these differences, the Dietary Guidelines recommends that women consume less alcohol -- up to one standard drink a day while men are advised to limit their consumption to two alcohol drinks a day. * Sometimes the wisest decision is not to drink. This is the case if you are younger than the minimum legal drinking age, pregnant, driving or operating machinery, or simply cannot control your drinking. * In many cases, alcohol and medications don't mix. Always read the label to determine if the prescription medicine or over-the-counter drug carries a specific warning about consuming alcohol. * If you are hosting a party, don't over-serve alcohol and keep an eye out for anyone who may have had too much to drink and is planning to drive home. If necessary, take their keys and call a taxi. Have plenty of non- alcoholic beverage choices available. * The obvious tip that everybody knows but sometimes forgets: before you go out, plan how you are going to get home. Designate a driver, have a taxi number, and have money ready to pay the taxi. Whatever you do, don't drink and drive and plan on staying sober. * Whether you are a parent, family member or a friend, don't serve to or buy alcohol for people under 21. Increasing public understanding of these basic health messages alsorequires ending the stalemate in modernizing beverage alcohol labels, whichtraces back to 1972, when consumer organizations first asked the federalgovernment to require meaningful alcohol labeling. In 2003, the NationalConsumers League joined with the Center for Science in the Public Interest,Consumer Federation of America and 75 other public health and consumerorganizations to submit a formal petition to TTB. This resulted in the agencyissuing an "advanced notice of proposed rulemaking" in April 2005 andreceiving more than 18,000 comments, of which 96 percent supported givingconsumers access to standardized and complete labeling information on beer,wine and distilled spirits labels.

TTB's most recent action occurred in 2007 when the agency proposed amandatory "Serving Facts" panel on beer, wine and distilled spirits butnotably ignored the most important information consumers need when consumingan alcoholic beverage -- alcohol content disclosure and the amount of alcoholin a serving. This resulted in another barrage of letters from consumers andpublic health leaders, all calling for more complete information on the label.Since the close of the public comment period in February 2008, TTB has notmoved forward with issuing final regulations.

To view a copy of the letter to Secretary-Designate Geithner, go tohttp://www.nclnet.org.

About the Center for Science in the Public Interest

Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been astrong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, andsound science. Founded by executive director Michael Jacobson, Ph.D. and twoother scientists, CSPI has long sought to educate the public, advocategovernment policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health andenvironmental issues, and counter industry's powerful influence on publicopinion and public policies.

About the Consumer Federation of America

Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of some 300organizations, with a combined membership of over 50 million Americans. Sinceits founding in 1968, CFA has worked to advance the interest of Americanconsumers through research, education and advocacy. CFA's Food PolicyInstitute was created in 1999 and engages in research, education and advocacyon food and agricultural policy, agricultural biotechnology, food safety andnutrition.

About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America's pioneerconsumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social andeconomic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information,visit http://www.nclnet.org.

About Shape Up America!

Shape Up America! was founded in 1994 by former U.S. Surgeon General C.Everett Koop to raise awareness of the health effects of obesity and toprovide responsible information on weight management to the public and tohealth care professionals. The organization maintains an award winning website-- http://www.shapeup.org -- accessed by more than 100,000 visitors each monthand an "opt-in" e-newsletter with more than 24,000 subscribers.

SOURCE Shape Up America!