Health warnings are everywhere. Now there is a call for information about the dangers of excessive drinking to be displayed on bottles and cans, as well as in pubs, supermarkets and off-licences.

A good idea. But let's not stop there. I don't think we have enough in the way of warnings that could affect our wellbeing. As members of an unsuspecting, trusting, public, I think we need more. I think we need to take warnings a step further.

In my latest missive to Mr Tony Blair, I have stressed how I feel we would all hugely benefit from warnings attached to the following:

Clothing: Women, apparently, think about their shape every 15 seconds. So for us, getting the right, or rather the most flattering, look when we are out shopping, takes on a monumental importance. Statements such as "If you're size 14 and less than 5ft 4in tall your bum may look big in this." Or "Those who don't resemble Kate Moss from behind should perhaps reconsider trying on these jeans." Alternatively, manufacturers could opt for a blunt and to-the-point approach: "Warning to sizes ten and over: buying this dress could seriously jeopardise your pulling power." Either way, it would do a lot of females a lot of favours. And men too - maybe then we wouldn't see so many size 24 blokes in size 14 replica football strips.

Children: Would-be parents should be told. They should be made to sit in front of Kids From Hell-style TV documentaries for at least three hours before being grilled CID-style with questions along the lines of: "Are you sure you want to give up life as you know it?" Parents always say that whatever you tell expectant couples it can never prepare them for the experience itself. It can't. I was guilty myself of being totally dismissive of claims by friends of how their newborn kept them on the go 24 hours a day. Until it happened to me. New parents quickly find out how demanding babies can be. And it doesn't stop there. Toddlers wear you out. Then they grow into children, start answering back, not doing as they are told, wanting to stay up late, eating you out of house and home; and the rest.

Cars: A few accident statistics slapped on to the windscreen of cars for sale on forecourts could help deter young people who are looking for high-performance vehicles. A few warnings as to the astronomical cost of insurance would not go amiss either.

Jobs: All jobs should come with a warning of sorts. The trouble is, most of us don't discover the down side until we actually start work, and then it's too late. I once accepted a position to find a boss more suited to a woman's prison than an office. My new colleagues warned me, and gave me the full low-down - but by then it was too late. By lunchtime I was severely traumatised, and would have done anything to have my old job back.

Updated: 10:20 Tuesday, April 25, 2006