4 ms·

I’d be delighted if everything that was as risky as tobacco, asbestos, alcohol, etc had health warnings. Same with foods: full dietary info, plus excess sugar/f

I’d be delighted if everything that was as risky as tobacco, asbestos, alcohol, etc had health warnings. Same with foods: full dietary info, plus excess sugar/fat/etc labelling. Only 25-30% of Canadians know that alcohol carries a cancer risk. A lot of Canadians drink well in excess of “safe” limits. Informing the public allows everyone to make a conscious choice about a significantly risky product. No one knows these things intuitively: they need to encounter that information repeatedly before they will know it well enough to use that information in making a decision. Adding a written warning on the bottle label is a sensible, inexpensive, effective way to accomplish this. I want to be more informed, not less.

anigbrowl 4y ago
Warnings aren't informational, they're motivational. Have you ever seen a health warning with a QR code that links to the data? No you haven't. Alcohol already carries health warnings, adding to them will likely have only marginal effect. I'm not saying that this information shouldn't be in health warnings, but it's worth considering how health and safety warnings and signage are absolutely ubiquitous in modern society. It could be that the consumer warnings are a mediocre substitute for industrial regulation at source - just slap a disclaimer on it to avoid lawsuits and call it a day, so to speak. It's also possible that this leads people to either filter them out or causes them additional levels of stress. I value safety information, but I don't value having it shoved in my face all the time.
- moistly 4y ago
  It amazes me that people argue in favour of having a population that is less informed.
  - anigbrowl 4y ago
    Seems like a non-sequitur as that's not the argument I'm making. I gave context and reasons, perhaps you should try the same approach.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - moistly 4y ago
      The labels already have a danger to pregnancies warning. It helps reduce FAS rates. Your concern trolling over extending that warning with one about cancer risk doesn’t deserve any greater attention.
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anigbrowl 4y ago

Warnings aren't informational, they're motivational. Have you ever seen a health warning with a QR code that links to the data? No you haven't. Alcohol already carries health warnings, adding to them will likely have only marginal effect. I'm not saying that this information shouldn't be in health warnings, but it's worth considering how health and safety warnings and signage are absolutely ubiquitous in modern society. It could be that the consumer warnings are a mediocre substitute for industrial regulation at source - just slap a disclaimer on it to avoid lawsuits and call it a day, so to speak. It's also possible that this leads people to either filter them out or causes them additional levels of stress. I value safety information, but I don't value having it shoved in my face all the time.

moistly 4y ago
It amazes me that people argue in favour of having a population that is less informed.
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  Seems like a non-sequitur as that's not the argument I'm making. I gave context and reasons, perhaps you should try the same approach.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - moistly 4y ago
    The labels already have a danger to pregnancies warning. It helps reduce FAS rates. Your concern trolling over extending that warning with one about cancer risk doesn’t deserve any greater attention.

deleted 4y ago

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