Posting of Signs Warning of Alcohol Dangers During Pregnancy Backed

Restaurants, bars and grocery stores in San Diego County may soon have to post signs warning pregnant women and nursing mothers of the effects alcohol can have on their fetuses and infants.

An ordinance requiring such warnings was approved in concept Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors on a vote of 4-0. Supervisor George Bailey abstained, saying he believed the problem should be handled by state government.

The board directed the county staff to study the issue and return with a specific ordinance for final action in January.

“There is very little doubt at all that drinking alcohol in any form during pregnancy can cause birth defects, has caused birth defects,” said Supervisor Susan Golding, who proposed the ordinance. “We must do what we can to make sure that any resident of the County of San Diego understands that, at least during that nine-month period and if the mother is nursing, there should be no alcohol consumed.”

If approved, the ordinance would apply only to establishments in the unincorporated areas of the county, over which the supervisors have control. Golding said she is urging the county’s 18 cities to adopt identical rules and would support state legislation requiring the warnings throughout California. The City and County of Los Angeles approved similar measures earlier this year.

Under Golding’s proposal, anyone selling alcoholic beverages at retail would have to post a sign with the following wording:

“Warning. Pregnancy and alcohol do not mix. Drinking beer, wine or liquor while you are a pregnant or nursing mother--even in moderate quantities--can be harmful to your baby.”

The proposal received strong backing Tuesday from several professionals in the alcohol abuse prevention field participating in a three-day conference in San Diego as part of Alcohol Awareness Week. The plan was opposed by representatives of restaurants, bars and grocery stores.

Marge Wurgel, director of community services for the local chapter of the March of Dimes, said an estimated 36,000 babies nationally are affected by being exposed to alcohol before birth, and at least 1,800 of those suffer severe birth defects.

Wurgel said even small amounts of beer and wine can cause birth defects. Other experts said fetal alcohol syndrome, as the condition is known in medical circles, is the third-ranking cause of birth defects in the nation.

“By supporting this type of legislation, we are allowing women in the community to have access to information that they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Wurgel said. “This type of birth defect is one we have complete control over.”

“This sign doesn’t tell women what to do,” added Mary Louise Frawley, a representative of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism. “It’s just informational.”

But those who would be required to post the signs said they had no desire to warn some of their customers not to buy their product.

Bruce MacKenzie of the San Diego Restaurant Assn. said he is already required to post at least 10 signs at his restaurant.

“One is from the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control Department), one is a cabaret license, one is a business license, one is a Class A dance license, one is a health department card, one is a non-smoking section sign, one is a tax-added-to-cocktails-sign, six emergency exits, an occupancy sign, and hand washing,” MacKenzie said. “Outside, I have handicapped parking signs, I have stop signs, and I have fire lanes. . . . I don’t really feel the addition of another sign would have much advantage.”

Gerald Breitbart, a state representative of the same association, was more blunt. He said the signs suggested by Golding would not be needed if health professionals did a better job educating women about the hazards of alcohol.

“We agree it is a problem,” Breitbart said. “We’d love to help you get this information out to the people who need it. But doing it in a restaurant, a bar, a liquor store is not the place. . . . The place for a public information campaign is in the schools.”

Steven Koff, a representative of the Southern California Grocers’ Assn., said the average market carries 15,000 to 20,000 items that could be harmful if misused by pregnant women.

“We don’t want to see the grocery outlet becoming the receptacle for 15,000 to 20,000 signs,” Koff said. “The grocery store is there for the purpose of selling food, not to scare its customers or not to warn the public.”

Supervisor Brian Bilbray, however, pointed out that many women can’t be counseled by doctors because they don’t receive care while they are pregnant.

“Maybe in your neighborhood, you have pregnant ladies going to their physicians,” Bilbray told MacKenzie. “A lot of my constituents never see a physician until they’re ready to deliver. I’m very concerned about your whole premise, saying physicians will inform the ladies when they’re pregnant. . . . How do we walk away from this issue and say it’s a doctor’s problem? We end up inheriting the problem.”

Bailey, who abstained, said he could not vote for Golding’s proposal, even “in concept,” until he learned more about what the state and federal governments were doing to solve the problem.

“I think it’s a statewide thing that should be handled in Sacramento,” Bailey said.