According to the latest Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau bulletin, one of the most common problems that triggers a COLA application being sent back for correction is “errors in the mandatory health warning statement, including punctuation and formatting problems.”
The following health warning statement must appear on all alcohol beverages for sale or distribution in the United States that contain 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume:
GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.
Remember the punctuation and formatting note from above.
- The words “GOVERNMENT WARNING” must appear in capital letters and in bold type.
- Don’t omit or change any punctuation marks (periods, commas, colon, parentheses)
- You may not include health warnings specifically related to alcohol consumption that are required by a foreign government
