Implementing Health Warnings on Alcoholic Beverages: On the Leading Role of Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States

Abstract

Despite being a psychoactive substance and having a major impact on health, alcohol has to date escaped the required labeling regulations for either psychoactive substances or food. The vast majority of the countries in the WHO European Region have stricter labeling requirements for bottled water and health warning provisions for over-the-counter medications than for alcoholic beverages. However, more progress in implementing health warnings has been made in the eastern part of the WHO European Region, largely because of the recent technical regulation put in place by the newly formed Eurasian Economic Union. The present contribution provides an overview of the existing legislation regarding the placement of alcohol health warnings on advertisements and labels on alcohol containers in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and discusses their potential gaps and shortfalls. It also reviews the evolution of the Eurasian Economic Union Technical Regulation 047/2018, which is, to date, the only international document to impose binding provisions on alcohol labeling. The technical regulation’s developmental process demonstrates how the comprehensive messages and strong requirements for health warnings that were suggested initially were watered down during the consultation process.