§ 213. Declaration of policy and purpose

The Congress finds that the American public should be informed about the health hazards that may result from the consumption or abuse of alcoholic beverages, and has determined that it would be beneficial to provide a clear, nonconfusing reminder of such hazards, and that there is a need for national uniformity in such reminders in order to avoid the promulgation of incorrect or misleading information and to minimize burdens on interstate commerce. The Congress finds that requiring such reminders on all containers of alcoholic beverages is appropriate and necessary in view of the substantial role of the Federal Government in promoting the health and safety of the Nation’s population. It is therefore the policy of the Congress, and the purpose of this subchapter, to exercise the full reach of the Federal Government’s constitutional powers in order to establish a comprehensive Federal program, in connection with the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in or affecting interstate commerce, to deal with the provision of warning or other information with respect to any relationship between the consumption or abuse of alcoholic beverages and health, so that—

(1) the public may be adequately reminded about any health hazards that may be associated with the consumption or abuse of alcoholic beverages through a nationally uniform, nonconfusing warning notice on each container of such beverages; and

(2) commerce and the national economy may be—

(A) protected to the maximum extent consistent with this declared policy,

(B) not impeded by diverse, nonuniform, and confusing requirements for warnings or other information on alcoholic beverage containers with respect to any relationship between the consumption or abuse of alcoholic beverages and health, and

(C) protected from the adverse effects that would result from a noncomprehensive program covering alcoholic beverage containers sold in interstate commerce, but not alcoholic beverage containers manufactured and sold within a single State.

(Aug. 29, 1935, ch. 814, title II, § 202, as added Pub. L. 100–690, title VIII, § 8001(a)(3), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4518.)

Effective Date

Effective Date

Act Aug. 29, 1935, ch. 814, title II, § 210, as added Nov. 18, 1988, Pub. L. 100–690, title VIII, § 8001(a)(3), 102 Stat. 4521, provided that: “Except as provided in section 204(a) [27 U.S.C. 215(a)], this title [enacting this subchapter] shall take effect on the date of its enactment into law [Nov. 18, 1988].”

Short Title

Short Title

For short title of title II of act Aug. 29, 1935, which is classified to this subchapter, as the “Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of 1988”, see section 201 of act Aug. 29, 1935, set out as a note under section 201 of this title.