India: All alcohol bottles to carry health warning messages from April 2019
Every single liquor bottle in every state will be carrying health warning from next year, as an initiative to promote healthy drinking habit.
August 20, 2018
Come April 2019, all liquor bottles in the country, be it spirit, beer or wine, will carry a warning similar to the one that tobacco and cigarette packets have. There will be two messages on alcohol bottles stating: “Drinking is injurious to health” and “Don’t Drink and Drive”. The messages will not carry pictures though.
The decision by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) comes in an attempt to rid people of drinking. Earlier, only a few states were carrying the health warnings.
According to Times of India, the FSSAI has made few changes in the norms of alcohol inclusion. Bangla, the heady country spirit produced in Bengal, will see alcohol content go down to make it less intoxicating. It will also acquire a flavour and colour will be added to the spirit.
These move was commissioned under a pan-India move to follow the “Drink healthy and drink less” guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The above guidelines of FSSAI will become mandatory for liquor producers of all states. Many southern states have replaced strong liquor with India-made flavoured liquor in accordance with the WHO guidelines. From April 2019 other states will also replace high alcohol content liquor with the flavoured liquors that have less content.
These mandatory ruling will be a great initiative to promote “Drink healthy and drink less” drive and will be followed across the country.