The sale of foreign magazines like Vogue, GQ and Grazia may become illegal in Ireland under new alcohol laws.
According to the European Commission, legislation means that at present a magazine distributed all over Europe that contains advertisements for alcoholic products would need to be reprinted before it was lawfully marketed in Ireland.
'A number of measures in the controversial Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will negatively impact intra-EU trade and go beyond what is required to effectively tackle alcohol misuse, according to the European Commission, who has submitted comments to the Irish Government in relation to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill,' the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) said in a statement.
Trade Barrier
The representative body for drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland said that the view of the European Commission highlights the urgent need for amendments to be made to this legislation.
“The drinks industry, like the European Commission, supports the overall objectives of the Alcohol Bill to tackle harmful and underage drinking in Ireland. However, it’s clear some of the advertising and labelling provisions are not proportionate and will represent a barrier to trade in the EU,” Patricia Callan, director of ABFI said.
“We are calling on the Government to remove the requirement for cancer warnings on alcohol products, and a requirement that health warnings take up at least one-third of the label and other printed material.”
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
