Norway’s Christian Democrats want to put warnings on beer, wine, and spirits bottles

Duty free - alcoholPhoto: Vegard Grøtt / NTB

The Christian Democrats (KrF) favor labeling beer, wine, and spirits bottles in the same way as cigarettes.

“Alcohol has enormous harmful effects that cost individuals and society dearly,” KrF’s youth party KrFU wrote in the justification for the proposal, which was discussed at the party’s national meeting on Saturday.

A large majority in the party supported the proposal to label alcohol bottles with information about alcohol’s harmful effects in the same way as tobacco products.

In 2018, the Norwegian parliament (Storting) decided to introduce the labeling of bottles with health warnings about alcohol use during pregnancy and in connection with driving.

The KrF wants to take the practice a step further with more general warnings.

National alcohol strategy

In its national alcohol strategy, announced in March, the Norwegian government has already announced it would propose requirements for warning labeling on alcoholic beverages. It did not specify the type of warnings.

The Association of wine and spirits suppliers (VBF) reacted to KrF’s decision.

“I hope the party has not forgotten that we have an alcohol monopoly for goods over 4.7% alcohol in this country,” Secretary-General Ingunn Jordheim told NTB.

She pointed out that Norway has been allowed to have Vinmonopolet through an exception from the EEA agreement.

“If you have a monopoly, you must also not adopt laws or regulations that require certain goods to be designed in a certain way in order to be sold in the country. That is called technical barriers to trade and is not compatible with maintaining a monopoly,” she noted.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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1 Comment on "Norway’s Christian Democrats want to put warnings on beer, wine, and spirits bottles"

  1. Absolutely!

    A friend of mine back in Juneau Alaska worked in the State Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (SOADA). He was very liberal – critical of my public defense of national defense and nuclear deterrence (of world, nuclear war, in the absence of anything better) – but about alcohol he was DOGMATIC. He had seen so many people destroyed … or numbed from life … by it, and considered anyone who drank to be a closet alcoholic just not yet out of control.

    As addicted as I am to chocolate, I am grateful to my younger self for having always stayed AWAY from alcohol, cigarettes, etc.

    VERY good to see the Christian Democrats speaking out on moral issues like this!

    Now, what about sivillforsvars/civil defense? ??

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