Liquor Bottles Now To Contain Warnings Against Drunk Driving

A new FSSAI initiative means that liquor bottles in the subcontinent will mandatorily have a message against drunk driving.  This development comes after the Delhi High Court gave a directive and asked FSSAI to look into the issue after an NGO filed a petition against drunken driving.

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“We carried out consultations on the issue and also studied global practices. However, we came to the conclusion that liquor manufacturers in other countries, too, are not mandated by food regulators to have such messages or warnings and decide on their own,” Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI was quoted by The New Indian Express.

.@fssaiindia is set to make it mandatory for all liquor bottles to have a message against drunken driving, while turning down a proposal to also add a pictorial warning against the same. Sumi Sukanya Dutta reports- https://t.co/6CH3HK6EXN

— New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) 7 December 2017

According to sources, this decision was met following a meeting between FSSAI officials, representatives of several liquor brands and civil society members where six designs of pictorial warnings were discussed.

“While four designs were proposed by the NGO CADD, interestingly two of the liquor brands, also had come up with two designs but most other brands put their feet down and said they don’t want such a rule,” a source told the newspaper.

Drinking and driving have become a menace in India in the recent past. Although the punishment meted out to those found drunk driving has become much harsher, people are still flouting the rules. Hopefully, this step taken by FSSAI will alert drivers to the dangers of drunk driving. Although, quite frankly, they should already know.