Alcohol packaging with a capacity of up to 300 ml should be made of glass or metal – according to the draft amendment to the regulations by the Ministry of Health, which is included in the government's list of legislative works. The document also proposes the introduction of a provision prohibiting the marketing of alcohol in non-liquid form. The list does not include information about the previously announced ban on price promotions.
The draft amendment to the Act on upbringing in sobriety and counteracting alcoholism is a reaction Ministry of Health the appearance of alcoholic beverages in tubes or sachets that are visually similar to the packaging of fruit purees for children and adolescents.
The government information stated that the new solutions will concern the appearance of alcohol packaging, the content on it and the material from which the packaging can be made. These are packages with a nominal quantity of up to 300 ml. It was proposed that these packaging could only be made of glass or metal.
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Alcohol only in liquid form
The project proposes introducing a provision that: prohibits the marketing of alcohol in non-liquid formunless separate regulations provide otherwise. This, in turn, is a response to the appearance of alcohol on the market in the form of powder, crystal, gel or paste.
The government information states that new regulations will be imposed on sellers obligation to refuse to sell or serve alcoholic beverages people who did not present a document confirming their age. “The structure of this provision obliges the seller or the person providing the goods to each time demand the presentation of the above document in case of doubts as to whether the buyer is over 18 years of age,” the information states.
Currently, in case of doubts as to the purchaser's age of majority, the seller or servicer of alcoholic beverages is entitled to demand production of a document confirming the purchaser's age. This situation meant that those selling alcoholic beverages to minors avoided criminal liability by demonstrating that they had no opportunity to resolve doubts as to the purchaser's age.
The draft also includes changes to criminal provisions and transitional provisions resulting from the proposed changes. The planned date of adoption of the project by the Council of Ministers is the fourth quarter of this year. The person responsible for developing the project is Deputy Minister of Health Wojciech Konieczny.
Prohibition of alcohol price promotions
Last week, Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna announced that another change in limiting the availability of alcoholic beverages would be a ban on price promotions. – We will not be able to buy two bottles of vodka cheaper, because one is more expensive, and if we buy two, it is cheaper – said Minister Leszczyna on TVN24.
She added that the problem is also that “beer sellers or beer producers take advantage of the fact that they advertise non-alcoholic beer.” However, there is no information in the government job list ban on alcohol price promotions.
The “alcotube” scandal in Poland
The media recently reported on the sale of alcoholic beverages in soft packaging resembling fruit mousses under the Voodoo Monkey brand. After the case was publicized, the Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the search for a method that will “block the practice of alcohol sachets.”
OLV company, manufacturer of the so-called sachets of alcoholic beverages under the Voodoo Monkey brand, informed PAP that it is withdrawing the entire batch of products from the market and immediately stopping their production.
Main photo source: Andrzej Hulimka / Forum