Latest news with #AlcoholHealthwatch
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Christchurch community have their say on council's new alcohol policy draft
Council staff confirmed the draft LAP would not affect the remote sale of alcohol. Photo: 123RF Wayne Hawker tearfully recounted losing his former son-in-law to alcohol abuse while calling on the Christchurch City Council to clamp down on liquor sales in the city. The Christchurch man recalled his family's pain during a hearing on the council's draft local alcohol policy (LAP). The council had proposed ending alcohol sales at off-licence premises - such as bottle shops and supermarkets - at 9pm, as well as introducing a moratorium on new bottle stores in deprived areas and restricting their proximity to schools and addiction services. Current trading hours in the city were 7am to 11pm. Hawker was among the 415 people, businesses and organisations who made submissions on the council's proposal. On Wednesday, he told councillors he lost his former son-in-law to alcohol abuse and easy access to alcohol destroyed lives. "Our daughter... lost someone she thought was her soulmate. Our three grandchildren... 12, 10 and 8 at the time, lost their father. It can be squarely blamed on alcohol," he said. He urged city councillors to further restrict liquor sales, saying supermarkets did not need to sell alcohol as early as 7am. During the hearing, councillors heard varying views from community board members, alcohol harm advocates, business leaders and members of the public. Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Andrew Galloway commended the council on its draft LAP, but called for restricting premises to 9am opening and rules which prevented new stores from clustering in the same areas. Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board chair Paul McMahon supported the proposals, but urged councillors to further restrict new bottle shops in high deprivation areas to prevent them from becoming "stacked up on the edges" nearby. He also asked councillors to consider restricting alcohol deliveries via apps like Uber Eats. Council staff confirmed the draft LAP would not affect the remote sale of alcohol. Hospitality New Zealand central South Island regional manager Nikki Rodgers said the organisation supported the council's draft LAP. "We particularly appreciate the clarity around off-licence provisions, acknowledging the freeze on new licences, while still allowing new renewals and licences upon change of ownership. This provides essential certainty for existing operators and future investors," she said. Deputy mayor Pauline Cotter asked Rodgers what she thought about McMahon's proposal for greater restrictions in high deprivation areas. Rodgers said it would be hard to put such a restriction in place, given potential population growth. Foodstuffs South Island head of retail Kent Mahon said nine of the company's 18 Christchurch supermarkets would be affected by the 9pm closing time. The changes might lead to stores closing at 9pm, he said. If those stores were to remain open after 9pm, customers might be confused by the rules, leading to staff being abused as a result, Mahon said. "A customer loads up their shop, there's a bottle of wine in there at 9 or 8.58pm, and they can't process that whole transaction through," he said. "We all read the media, and there is abuse towards staff in our stores. Those staff would need to manage that inconsistent messaging." Councillor Sara Templeton. Photo: screenshot / Stuff Councillor Sara Templeton said apart from the potential for conflict for supermarket staff, it did not sound like the changes would have much effect on the stores. Some Super Liquor operators also addressed their concerns with the LAP. Super Liquor Ilam and Hornby co-owner John Symon told councillors he would willingly support closing stores at 9pm, so long as the council put those same restrictions on alcohol deliveries. "It seems ludicrous that on a remote licence you can supply alcohol up to 11 o'clock at night," he said. He supported the idea of preventing new outlets from opening in high deprivation areas, so long as it applied to supermarkets, and said he supported the idea of a 500-metre buffer zone around those areas. Super Liquor Holdings' national operations manager Greg Hoar said delivery drivers should be restricted from delivering alcohol at the same time stores were shut. The company did not agree with restricting new outlets based on deprivation, Hoar said. He described the approach as "one-sided", since the LAP would not put the same restrictions on on-licence premises or new supermarkets. "You have to be 18 to enter into an off-licence premises or with a legal guardian, yet you can walk past outlets or through a liquor section of a supermarket without being questioned," Hoar said. "We have clean sites with no branding of beers, RTD and wines on our buildings, yet I can walk past an on-licence premises and see people smoking and drinking outside with happy hour signs, or waltz into a supermarket." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
No Pregnancy Warning Labels On Alcohol
Press Release – Alcohol Healthwatch The report has some worrying findings, chief among them that over a third of alcohol products still do not have the correct pregnancy warning label. Just under half (44%) of the 400+ products audited either had no label, or had the label hidden on the … – 34% of alcohol products have no pregnancy warning label, shows new report. – 16% of alcohol products with the correct label have it hidden on the bottom of the packaging where it is less likely to be seen. Every baby deserves the best possible start in life. But new report by Alcohol Healthwatch of New Zealand's first audit of pregnancy warning labels on alcohol products, suggests that the low presence of correct labelling might be undermining this. The report has some worrying findings, chief among them that over a third of alcohol products still do not have the correct pregnancy warning label. Just under half (44%) of the 400+ products audited either had no label, or had the label hidden on the bottom of the packaging. The Government-mandated pregnancy warning label became compulsory from August 2023, following over twenty-years of advocacy by public health professionals and communities. Pregnancy warning labels are an important tool to share the information that no amount of alcohol is safe to consume when pregnant. Exposure of alcohol in-utero can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a lifelong disability characterised by cognitive, emotional, and functional deficits. FASD comprises over half of the estimated $9.1 billion dollars in alcohol harm felt in New Zealand annually. 'Communities have been fighting for a pregnancy warning label for twenty years,' says Sarah Sneyd, lead study author and Senior Health Promotion Advisor at Alcohol Healthwatch. 'People tell us all the time that if they pick up a bottle of wine, they expect that it will have the pregnancy warning label on it. But what we've found is that even a year after being mandatory, there's a good chance it won't have the message.' Spirits was the least likely to have the pregnancy warning label on it, with only 48% of spirits audited showing the warning label. This is likely due to its longer shelf life, as the law only states that alcohol manufactured from 31 July 2023 is required to have a warning label, not all alcohol sold. Wine was the next least likely to show the label, with only 57% showing the warning label. 'Spirits are some of the strongest alcohol you can buy, and wine is very popular among women,' says Sneyd. 'And they're the least likely to show a pregnancy warning label! It's just not good enough – this is a massive loophole that needs to be closed.' There is no requirement for any other health or warning label on alcohol products, such as the fact that it causes cancer. Furthermore, unlike almost every other consumable food or drink item, alcohol products (apart from RTDs) do not have to provide an ingredient list. Like Big Tobacco tactics, Big Alcohol has an incentive to delay or sidestep labelling requirements for as long as possible, to protect profit margins at the expense of health. However, the audit revealed much higher rates of industry-designed labels, with 78% of products having an industry-designed label, including urges to 'drink responsibly'. Often this messaging was located next to or near the pregnancy warning label, and may confuse viewers. This highlights the urgent need for a range of rotating health warnings to meet consumer rights for information. These labels must be prominent (i.e. not located at the bottom of packaging). Sneyd believes that in order for consumers to make informed decisions, they need the information. 'We're talking about preventing babies being born with brain damage; it goes without saying that this is an important message. If we can get communities the information they are entitled to, then we're one step closer towards every baby having the best possible start in life.'
