Alcohol Ads Can Tout Health Claims, with Conditions March 5, 2003
News Summary
New rules announced by the U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau -- the successor to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms -- allow alcohol companies to tout the health benefits of drinking in their advertising, as long as they also highlight the risks, the Associated Press reported March 3.The regulations, which take effect in 90 days, require beer, wine, and liquor companies that advertise the health benefits associated with their products to also include warnings about the health risks linked to moderate and excessive drinking.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States supports the new regulation, saying that it treats all alcoholic beverages the same. But the Competitive Enterprise Institute said it may challenge the new rules in federal court, saying they are unworkable and violate free speech.
"In some ways, it is worse then before," said Sam Kazman, general counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute. "Why should you have to jump through these hoops? It makes it virtually impossible to put anything on a label."
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