Alcoholic beverages in India to have drink-driving warning

To create more awareness about the dangers of alcohol abuse, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed all states and territories to place warning labels on alcoholic beverages, saying alcohol consumption has negative health impacts, and that people should not drink and drive.

The warning labels are the result of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) submitted by Prince Singhal, a social activist who directs Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD). The regulation will take effect from 1 April 2019, and enforcement of the regulation will be in conjunction with each state’s excise department.

The warning label will state: “Consumption of alcohol is injurious to health. Be safe — Don’t drink and drive.” A senior official said the regulation requires printing the warning labels in English, and that the minimum size for the label will be 3 mm. The official added that individual states and territories had the option to also print the warning labels in their local language if they desired.

Singhal hoped that the warning labels would help reduce the frequency of drink-driving in India. He said that several countries already require warning labels on alcoholic beverages, including Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the US and Zimbabwe, and have reduced the number of drink-driving incidents.

Road safety is a major concern in India. Data show that there are about 700,000 road accidents each year, resulting in more than 100,000 fatalities.