The proposed labels—which would cover 30% of the bottles' surface area—include unusually explicit warnings about risks associated with alcohol use. One picture shows a shirtless man grasping a woman by the hair and raising his fist to hit her, accompanied by the words, "Alcohol consumption could harm yourself, children and family."
Alcohol Control Committee Office, Thailand Ministry of Public Health Part of a proposed label warning alcohol can lead to disability or death.
Another shows a pair of bare feet dangling in the air after an apparent suicide and the words, "Alcohol consumption could alter consciousness and lead to mortality." Others show diseased livers and a bloody motorbike accident.The labels "are the most extreme we've ever seen," says Brett Bivans, vice president of the International Center for Alcohol Policies, a Washington-based not-for-profit group funded by alcohol companies.
If the plan is adopted, such companies as Diageo PLC and Pernod Ricard SA would have to include the labels on all their brands sold in Thailand, including Absolut vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness beer.
Under Thai law, the new labels are subject to approval by two committees that oversee alcohol programs in Thailand. One committee has already given the green light. The second, chaired by a representative of Thailand's prime minister, is reviewing the plan.
In the meantime, liquor companies worry that Thailand is about to set a dangerous precedent that other larger countries could follow. With only 65 million people, the Southeast Asian nation will never be one of the world's biggest alcohol importers. But in 2005, it was among the first to slap graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging, such as pictures of diseased lungs. Since then, the U.K., Malaysia and other countries have followed suit.
