Government to abandon alcohol warning labels14 April 2008
The Finnish government proposes that last year’s amendment to the law on alcohol regarding attaching warning labels to containers of alcoholic beverages be annulled. According to the parliamentary decision from last year, the stickers were to state in 3mm-high letters
"WARNING: Alcohol is hazardous to the development of the foetus and to your health".
Although in the media there has mostly been talk about warning stickers to be attached to bottles, in reality in 95 per cent of the cases the warning would have been printed onto the original product label.
The revoking of Paragraph 33b of the Act on Alcohol is a rare occurrence in that the amendment will now be annulled even before it ever came into force. The new law on alcohol was to become effective from the beginning of 2009.
The change of heart with regard to the warning labels originates from the EU Commission ruling just before Christmas last year, according to which the warnings planned by Finland contravened EU directives. The Commission saw that warning labels issued unilaterally by a member state would have an effect on the operation of the Union’s internal market and the free movement of goods.
Breathalyser ignition locks programme to be put on a permanent footing
In its Thursday meeting the government also decided to propose making the programme on breathalyser ignition locks permanent.
According to a government bill, a convicted drunk driver could be granted a supervised right to drive, as long as he or she agreed to operate only a vehicle equipped with a breathalyser ignition lock.
The breathalyser ignition lock is a device that prevents the starting of a car engine if too high an alcohol content is detected in the driver’s breath.
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