Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) Liquor bottles should have a label on the exact alcohol content so that the person who drinks it is aware of the amount he consumes, a London based liquor company said Thursday.
Diageo India Private limited, a local unit of the world’s largest liquor company, said it will forward its suggestion to the Indian government to bring in a national guideline on it.

Dev Das Gupta, corporate relations officer of Diageo India, said: “We are likely to tie up with the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) and will later hold talks with the central government to bring in a national guideline by giving standard drinking measurements on all alcohol bottles”.

“The standard drinking label will carry the amount of pure alcohol in a drink in grams. This initiative will help one measure the amount of alcohol which they consume,” he added.

“This will be an effective tool to restrict the level of drinking by an individual. The standard drinking unit on the bottles and beer containers would make an individual a more responsible drinker,” Gupta said during an interactive session with reporters here.

The company has also conducted awareness campaigns for various hotels, particularly bartenders in Mumbai, emphasising the importance of standard drinking labels on alcohol bottles.

“The awareness campaign would be conducted in Delhi, Bangalore and Calcutta,” he said.

Gupta also said a separate ‘Drink IQ’ session, an interactive conversation about responsible drinking, would be conducted for traffic police officials.

“Alcoholic drinks are served in a variety of sizes, and each has different amounts of alcohol in it. Many governments like Australia, Indonesia have adopted the concept of a standard drink or unit and found it effective,” said Ron Ainsbury, former corporate relations director of Diageo, Australia.