The new law will surprise many alcohol consumers. This has never happened before.
The Senate on Thursday unanimously voted to support the bill, which had previously been discussed by the Senate's health and legislative committees. Senator Rafał Ambrozik will present the bill in parliament.
The Senate's draft amendment was created following a petition submitted in 2017, whose author requested that producers and distributors of alcoholic beverages be required to include clear and explicit information on product labels about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant women. This is the longest-running Senate bill —it has been in its third term.
According to the project , the label of an alcoholic beverage will have to include information about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant or breastfeeding women .
The draft amendment to the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism assumes that alcoholic beverages will have to be delivered to places of sale in closed containers, which not only indicate the name of the manufacturer, the type and quantity of the beverage and its strength, but also provide information about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant or breastfeeding women.
The size, scope, design, and method of displaying the information would be specified in a regulation by the Minister of Health. The draft stipulates that the information could be in the form of text or a pictogram. The Minister of Health would ensure that it is visible, understandable, and unambiguous—to serve a warning and preventive function.
Beer advertising and promotion will also be required to include information about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on pregnant or breastfeeding women , the bill states. This information will be required in all beer advertising and promotions, regardless of where the ad is displayed. Due to the diversity of media (posters, billboards, television, internet, radio), details will be specified in a regulation issued by the Minister of Health, the bill's explanatory memorandum states.
The project's authors expect the regulation to result in a decrease in alcohol consumption by pregnant and breastfeeding women. Consequently, the number of children affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) should decrease , including the number of children born with the most severe condition, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
Currently , advertising and promoting alcoholic beverages, with the exception of beer, is prohibited. The bill would also prohibit the sale of alcohol in forms other than liquid, such as gels or pastes.
The project imposes new obligations on entrepreneurs, but as part of deregulation, several facilities have been introduced for them – the abolition of fees for changing a decision regarding the wholesale trade in alcoholic beverages, e.g. the entrepreneur's residential address, and the period for reporting certain data from the permit has been extended from 14 to 30 days.
The law would come into force six months after its announcement , but alcoholic beverages could be sold with the old label for two years after the introduction of the new rules.
The bill will now go to the Speaker of the Sejm.
In March, the Ministry of Health submitted for public consultation a draft amendment to the Act on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism and the Act on Healthcare Services Financed from Public Funds.
It introduces, among other things, a ban on promoting beer, including in the form of bonuses, discounts, packages and loyalty programs.
According to the Ministry of Health's project, packaging up to 300 ml in which alcohol is sold will only be allowed to be made of glass or metal.
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