Posting of Alcohol Warning Signs OKd

Launching a public education program designed to prevent birth defects, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a measure requiring certain businesses selling alcohol to post signs warning pregnant women of the potential dangers of drinking.

The alcohol warning signs measure, proposed by Supervisor Susan Golding, was approved unanimously by the board after the local restaurant industry, which initially opposed the plan, endorsed it as one means of combating widespread public ignorance about medical evidence linking birth defects to even moderate drinking during pregnancy.

“Fetal alcohol syndrome” is the third-leading cause of birth defects in this country, covering a range of disorders related to maternal alcoholic consumption, including facial disfigurements, small head and body size, and mental retardation. Various medical studies have shown that those defects have been detected in some children of women who averaged as little as one alcoholic drink per day during pregnancy.

Under the ordinance, restaurants, bars, grocery and convenience stores, and other establishments selling alcoholic beverages will be required to post 5 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch signs that state: “Pregnancy and alcohol do not mix. Drinking alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, during pregnancy can cause birth defects.”

Restaurateurs originally objected to the suggested wording and entryway location of the signs, and argued that they were “being singled out as the bad guys,” according to Harold Hoersch, past president of the San Diego Restaurant Assn. However, the restaurant owners were appeased by changes in the wording and the county’s agreement to allow the cards to be placed in restaurant restrooms and in spots visible where liquor and beer sales occur in other stores.

The ordinance would affect about 700 businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county, but Golding plans to encourage the county’s cities to adopt similar laws covering more than 3,600 other liquor outlets. The signs also will be posted in county buildings and health clinics.