The draft of the law on alcohol and minors, proposed by the Ministry of Health, and which was taken to the Council of Ministers this Tuesday, will address some of the keys to promoting responsible alcohol consumption in society and protecting the health of minors.
The Ministry of Health, through its website, has published the key measures of this draft bill, related to the educational, family, socio-health, advertising, sports and commercial communication fields, among others.
In the family sphere, programs will be implemented to raise awareness among families about the risks of alcohol and provide them with tools to prevent its consumption in minors, also paying special attention to families at risk of social exclusion or with minors affected by the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The law also includes the educational part, with new content on prevention of alcohol consumption in primary, secondary, vocational training, baccalaureate and university curricula and teacher training. In addition, the Security Forces may act by carrying out alcohol tests in specific places and circumstances where alcohol consumption is prohibited.
With this draft, alcohol consumption is prohibited for all people in educational centers, child protection centers and student residences, and in sports and leisure centers.
With regard to the sale of alcohol, it will be regulated to protect minors, prohibiting street vending and without administrative license on public roads. Also in other places and circumstances established in another state or regional law or in a municipal ordinance. Dispensing machines may not be installed on public roads, or in places where the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
Among the regulations there will be limitations on advertising and commercial communication, it will be prohibited in places where alcohol cannot be consumed and advertising cannot be placed on public roads, or in places visible from it. In addition, any direct, indirect or covert form of advertising of alcoholic beverages or products that simulate being an alcoholic beverage, aimed at minors, is prohibited.
Now, the draft must now collect the reports and opinions of different ministries and organizations and go through a public hearing before returning to the table of the Council of Ministers to begin its parliamentary processing.
