There is a category of highly sweetened beverages that are high in alcohol, sold in single-serve containers, and marketed in a manner that could be appealing to young people. Some of these products contain as much alcohol as four glasses of wine.
Addressing public health risks associated with these types of beverages requires a combination of measures at the federal and P/T levels. The Government of Quebec has announced proposed legislative changes to ban the sale of mixed malt-based beverages with more than 7% alcohol from private stores （e.g., dépanneurs, grocery stores）， along with a review of advertising measures to protect minors.
Proposal
Health Canada proposes to amend the Regulations to restrict the amount of alcohol in a single-serve （i.e., non-resealable） container of these highly sweetened alcoholic beverages to reduce the health and safety risks of these types of products. This proposal would affect alcoholic beverages sold in single-serve containers that exceed a certain sweetness threshold （including those that contain artificial sweeteners）。
Health Canada is consulting on:
the mechanism by which to restrict the amount of alcohol （this could be achieved by limiting the maximum size of the container or by limiting the percentage of alcohol in a single-serve container）； and
the sweetness threshold that would trigger the restrictions.
This proposal is not intended to capture liqueurs, dessert wines, and other sweet alcoholic beverages sold in re-sealable containers.
Next steps
The Government of Canada will take into consideration all comments received during the public comment period when developing the proposal to amend the Regulations. Pending the feedback received, Health Canada plans to introduce proposed regulations in Canada Gazette in fall 2018.
In the meantime, Health Canada is calling on industry stakeholders to come forward with measures to reduce the risk of these products. Health Canada will also take a leadership role and convene a meeting with P/Ts and key stakeholders to discuss collective measures, including advertising, marketing, and labelling for reducing the risks of these products.
Comments
Interested parties may, within 45 days of the publication of this notice, provide their comments on this Notice of Intent, in writing, to the Office of Legislative and Regulatory Modernization, Policy, Planning and International Affairs Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health, Holland Cross, Suite 14, 11 Holland Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9. Comments can also be sent by email to hc.lrm.consultations-mlr.sc@canada.ca.
