Smithwick's has become the first beer brand in Ireland to provide consumers with full on-label content and nutritional information.

It sets in motion drink giant Diageo's plan to have all of its products display how many calories are contained within and the grams of alcohol per serve.

The new labelling will also include warnings on drink driving and consuming alcohol whilst pregnant.

The Diageo Consumer Information Standards (DCIS) are based on studies of over 1,500 consumers worldwide and come into force this week.

Diageo's Corporate Relations Director Liam Reid said:

"We began looking at this in Diageo globally around a year ago and made a commitment to do this.

"What we know is that consumers want more information but they want information in a way that they can digest and that's useful to them.

"It's one of the first times you'll see calorie information on a beer brand, one of the first times you'll see that per serve in grams, so it provides information in a way that people can actually understand..."

Soon, Guinness will follow suit.

According to Reid, Diageo's ambition "is to have this labelling on every can and bottle of Guinness around the world within the next 12 - 18 months."

Diageo also owns brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys and Captain Morgan.

Johnnie Walker will be its first global brand to have the labelling.

It is set to introduce it in early autumn and it is expected that there will be 30 million bottles of the newly-labelled Johnnie Walker Red Label in circulation by the end of 2016.

Reid rejected the suggestion that people will be put off drinking when they see how many calories they are likely to gain from a pint of the Black Stuff.

"This is about providing consumers with the information. It's really their choice."