Public supports new alcohol labels: poll

The research, commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, also shows many Australians aren't aware of what damage drinking while pregnant can do to unborn babies.

While 70 per cent of those polled by YouGov were aware that drinking while pregnant contributed to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder, just over half knew it could contribute to stillbirth.

When asked how many drinks it was safe to have while pregnant, 23 per cent of people said one or more, or that they didn't know.

Some 70 per cent of respondents supported changing labels on alcohol bottles to a new warning that says "alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby".

Respondents in the ACT were more likely to be aware of the risks and recorded the highest rate of support for moving to the new labels.

The polling has been released days before federal and state food ministers are due to meet to discuss changes to labelling laws on Friday.

Under the current rules that have been in place since 2011, a symbol with a line through a silhouette of a pregnant woman drinking a glass of wine is voluntary.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand last month notified ministers it intended to change the Food Standards code to make labelling on alcoholic drinks mandatory.

The new label will include the words "health warning" in bold red text, and "alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby".

Smaller bottles with a volume of less than 200 ml will only require the symbol, not the words.

It's a move that has been panned by the alcohol industry, which has lobbied hard against the changes.

Alcohol Beverages Australia had supported making the existing voluntary labels mandatory, but said the change to the new labels would cost the industry $400 million in producing new labels.

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education believes the polling shows Australians want stronger warnings on labels, even if the industry doesn't support them.

"The alcoholic products industry doesn't want the new label, which is red, bold and sends a clear health warning. This can only be because they don't want the community to know the real risks and harm that alcohol can cause during pregnancy," chief executive Caterina Giorgi said.

The foundation believes the current labels aren't effective at reducing the rate of drinking in pregnant women and need to be beefed up.

"When we asked Australians about the alcohol industry's ineffective labels, which appear on less than half of all alcoholic products, it was not surprising that almost a quarter (23%) of respondents didn't know that using alcohol when pregnant is harmful," Ms Giorgi said.