The conspicuous label ‘excessive consumption of alchohol is harmful to your health’labeled on alcohol bottles is here to stay after the Court of Appeal dismissed a case by East African Breweries Limited (EABL) seeking to make it less bolder.
EABL which reported Ksh6.6 billion increase in net profit for the half year ended December 2018 on Friday wanted the court to nullify a ruling issued by current Supreme Court judge Isaac Lenaola who rejected an invitation to rule on the percentage area the disclaimers should appear on alcohol bottles during his stint as High Court judge.
“We, for ourselves, see no violation of rights when the producer, seller or user of an item or substance that is potentially harmful to other persons is required to carry or exhibit a warning and a caution for the benefit of the persons likely to be affected,” Justices Roselyn Nambuye, Patrick Kiage and Otieno Odek ruled.
The Appelate judges also dismissed claims by the beer maker that the law was passed without proper consultations by ruling that there was sufficient evidence to prove that The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) was roped in during the drafting of the law.
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EABL was contesting the legality of Section 32 of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act which mandates a manufacturer, importer, seller or distributor of an alcoholic drink, to ensure that every package has at least two of the health warning messages in English or Kiswahili.
The beer maker had submitted that the law is detrimental to its brand.
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EABL faulted the ruling by Justice Lenaola saying that the company is not objecting to aligning its business to health requirements but wanted a fair ruling on the area that the disclaimers should appear on a bottle.
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