Recent research indicates that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can have severe and adverse effects on the fetus, resulting in birth defects including growth retardation, facial abnormalities and congenital heart disease. Such adverse effects are known individually as Fetal Alcohol Effects and collectively as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading preventable birth defect in infants, affecting brain, limb and motor reflex development for developing fetuses. These are irreversible birth defects. Public awareness of Fetal Alcohol Effects and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is dangerously low. It is the policy of the City and County of San Francisco that the public should be informed that consumption of alcohol during pregnancy may be harmful to a fetus and may result in birth defects.
Therefore, the Board of Supervisors declares that it is in the public interest to require every person who sells alcohol intended to be used as a beverage to post a conspicuous warning at the point of retail sale as to the possible danger in consuming alcohol during pregnancy.
(Added by Ord. 6-88, App. 1/7/88)