Ireland: update on the Irish Bill & Call for action (health warnings)

In January 2018, the Irish Government notified new amendments to its draft Public Health (Alcohol) Bill. These changes were including: mandatory cancer warning; a requirement that health warnings should take up at least 1/3 of printed materials; and a ban on all alcohol broadcast advertising before 9pm.

These new elements were to be added to the provisions initially present in the 2016 version of the Bill, which aleady covered: MUP; health warning labelling; advertising regulation; sponsorship regulation; structural separation in mixed trading outlets; regulation of the sale and supply of alcohol in certain circumstances.

On 29 May 2018, the EU Health Commissioner explained that the Commission was not able to assess the draft measure and will need more detailed information in relation to its modalities, including on the wording of the notified health warnings. Therefore, Ireland has been invited to notify the relevant draft regulation, once the modalities have been defined.  Source: Comité Vins.