Pubs must have signs warning customers

That is the notable content of the Decree detailing a number of articles of the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol and Beer, which has just been issued by the Government.

According to this decree, businesses selling alcohol with an alcohol content of less than 15 degrees and beer must have one of the following warnings for customers: "drinking alcohol and beer can cause traffic accidents", "drinking alcohol and beer can affect the health of the fetus" or "people under 18 years old are not allowed to drink alcohol and beer".

Pubs must warn customers about the harmful effects of alcohol and beer.

This regulation also specifies that alcohol and beer advertisements on the radio must also clearly read this content. For television advertisements, the text must be displayed across the entire width of the screen. Newspapers, websites, social networks and electronic media must have control software to prevent people under 18 from searching for information about alcohol and beer.

For outdoor advertising, billboards and banners advertising wine and beer with an alcohol content of less than 5.5 degrees must be placed at least 200 meters away from general education and entertainment facilities for people under 18 years old and at least 100 meters away from universities.

For billboards placed within this area before the effective date of the above decree, they will remain in place, but must be removed when the advertising contract expires.

This Decree also stipulates that people who buy alcohol and beer online must declare specific personal information including name, address, and payment information to the seller. The seller is responsible for checking the age in case of suspicion that the recipient is under 18 years old.

Also according to this decree, the use of images of actors drinking alcohol or beer in cinema, stage and television works must ensure a number of requirements such as: not showing prohibited acts according to regulations, except in cases of criticizing or condemning those acts, or not praising organizations or individuals who are successful in producing and trading alcohol or beer.

This Decree also clearly stipulates that drinking alcohol is not allowed in public places such as parks, bus stops, cinemas, theaters, cultural and sports facilities, etc., except in some permitted cases.

The above Decree takes effect from February 24, 2020.