The International journal of the addictions
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In 1988 the US Congress passed a law requiring a health warning label on alcoholic beverage containers, to include the message that pregnant women should not drink alcohol. This paper addresses the role that scientific knowledge played in the formation and passage of the alcohol warning label policy. ⋯ A synopsis of the state of knowledge in 1988 regarding the effects of alcohol on the fetus is presented, and a snapshot of the social climate at that time is offered. The paper concludes with an update of relevant FAS research since the legislation was passed, and considers implications for future research and policy in the prevention of FAS.