Brewers to Fight Back Against Health Warning on Beer Labels

Beer drinkers will see two messages this year-- one telling them alcohol consumption may cause health problems, and the other claiming beer is “as basic as bread.”

While the first message will appear on government warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers, the second will be included in advertisements by Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the nation’s largest brewer.

Anheuser-Busch, however, is not alone in defending its product. In an industry battered by concerns over alcohol abuse and drunk driving, some executives have decided to fight back and tell the public that beer not only is safe but has a revered place in cultural history.

“Most of the action has been on the playing field of the critics,” said James Sanders, president of the Beer Institute, a trade association in Washington. “We need to get out of the reactive mode and into a pro-active mode.”

The U.S. beer industry has been stagnant in recent years, and analysts say one cause has been a changing social attitude toward drinking and a greater awareness of alcohol’s potential hazards.

But industry officials say they have been portrayed too often as villains, and they say beer can be enjoyed safely if consumed responsibly.

‘Lots of Enjoyment’

“Beer drinkers are not drug addicts,” Leonard Goldstein, president of Miller Brewing Co., said in an April speech to Wisconsin beer distributors. “Throughout history, beer has provided lots of enjoyment for millions of consumers.”

But, he added, “if ever there was a time for our industry to pull together and fight for control of our own destiny, that time is now.”

Last December, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office held a workshop on drunk driving and issued preliminary recommendations, which Goldstein called “an obituary for the alcohol-beverage industry.”

Among them were measures to ban alcohol advertisements by celebrities “who have a strong appeal to youth” and to create equal time for public service spots to balance the advertising of alcoholic beverages. Final recommendations will be included in a report due May 31.

Also last year, Congress passed the alcohol labeling law, which takes effect in November.