Of course, the Irish never touched a drop, did they?

Maybe read James Joyce before agreeing with that.

Italy has joined up with France, Spain and Portugal to stop ‘health warnings’ on bottled wine following Irish legislation requiring such patently stupid health bureaucrat-driven interventions. 

“It’s totally wrong to compare the excessive consumption of northern countries to the moderate and knowledgeable consumption of quality and lower alcohol-content drinks that in Italy are emblematic of a leisurely way of life,” (said head of Italian agricultural lobby group Coldiretti Ettore Prandini).

Coldiretti is also combatting nanny-state notices on such food items as cheese and salami.

Some Irish share the scepticism. Agreed Cormac Healy of Drinks Ireland: “… an example of zealotry …”. Yes, perhaps ironic coming from an Irish lobby group; nevertheless a life lived confronted by warnings on everything may be more deleterious to long-term health than that ‘leisurely way of life’ untroubled by health bureaucrats and politicians lurking in every kitchen, larder and bathroom.