You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

September 18, 2015

Thailand’s New Alcohol Labeling and Message Requirements

Subscribe to Updates
Bangkok Post, Corporate Counsellor Column

On January 22, the government issued a new notification, published in the Royal Gazette, setting out controversial labeling and message restrictions for alcoholic beverages that could result in major losses for the alcohol industry. It is being challenged before the Administrative Court, but pending the outcome of that case it has come into effect on April 22.

The Notification of Alcoholic Beverages Control Re: Rules, Procedures, and Conditions for Labels of Alcoholic Beverages, as it is formally known, is based on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 2008 and its subsequent 2010 Ministerial Regulation, under which alcoholic beverages cannot be advertised in any way that boasts of efficacies, benefits, or qualities, or induces one to drink.

In January 2014, the Public Health Ministry notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of proposed labeling requirements for alcoholic beverages. The draft notification prohibited the use of various types of messages on alcoholic beverage labels and packages including any message “which misleads consumers on the content of products” and any message “using the picture of a cartoon.”

The ministry issued a revised draft notification in August 2014 that combined the labeling restrictions with measures mandating graphic health warnings on alcoholic beverage packaging. Thailand would be the first country in the world to do so. It had earlier introduced the concept of graphic health warnings on alcoholic beverage packaging in 2010, but after details of the proposal reached the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee, no more was heard of the proposal.

Last December, the ministry signed the final version of the notification without the graphic health warning provisions but with revised versions of the labeling and message restrictions. They include prohibitions on “a message which materially misleads consumers on the content of products” and “a message using cartoon images except images which are trademarks of alcoholic beverages which have been legitimately registered prior to enforcement of this Notification.”

Alcoholic beverages have long been branded and marketed with labels, containers, and packaging containing important messages depicted graphically that have been registered as trademarks and/or service marks. The ministry is likely to argue that many such future trademarks unregistered before April 22 violate the requirements in the notification, and therefore operators would be prohibited from displaying such trademarks on their products in Thailand. This would prevent rights holders from using their trademarks in accordance with their registration and put those marks at risk of cancellation based on non-use.

With the notification now in effect, the ministry appears to be moving once more toward reintroducing requirements for graphic health warnings on alcoholic beverage packaging. In 2010 and last year, the ministry proposed the introduction of graphic health warnings akin to those already in place for tobacco products.

In a novel move, the ministry staged a public competition to design new graphic health warnings for alcoholic beverage packaging. The competition requires that entries:

  • may use any graphic design technique including painting and photography;
  • must warn the public of the harms and consequences of alcoholic beverage consumption;
  • must aim at deterring children, teenagers, and the public to refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages;
  • must also contain “warning phrases;” and
  • must comply with all relevant intellectual property (IP) laws and be new and not previously submitted in any other contest or published in any magazine or website.

Contest participants must agree to transfer all IP rights related to the submission to the Thai Alcohol Control Committee. Prizes of THB 2,000 to THB 50,000 were offered for the winning designs, and the deadline for submissions was August 31. The competition is a clear attempt to drum up support for the imposition of graphic health warnings and raise significant awareness of the issue.

However, the delegation of this part of the regulatory process to the general public is bound to raise questions about whether any notification or regulation is based on internationally recognized principles of evidence-based policymaking. As such, can it be demonstrated to be an effective and proportionate measure to tackle genuine public health and social harms associated with alcoholic beverages?

The blanket imposition of large graphic health warnings on all alcoholic beverage products is also likely to meet opposition from manufacturers and importers on the basis that it unreasonably restricts their right to use their lawfully registered trademarks to market their legal products to adult consumers.

Ministerial notifications are, however, subject to legal challenge in the Administrative Court, which has the power to overturn or amend unlawful acts by administrative agencies or state officials. The court may issue an injunctive order suspending execution of the measure pending the outcome of the challenge.

Download Full Article
Related Professionals
Aaron Le Marquer
Partner and Deputy Director, Dispute Resolution
Thailand
+66 2056 5555
Email

Industries

Life Sciences

Practices

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Intellectual Property

Regulatory Affairs

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

June 24, 2026
Patent enablement requirements are provided under Article 102 of Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property (IP Law). In particular, a patent specification must “fully and clearly disclose the nature of the invention to such an extent that, based on the specification, a person having ordinary skill in the relevant art can implement the invention.” In pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents, this requirement is more complicated and subject to more rigorous assessment. The Patent Examination Guidelines (Guidelines) of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Office) were amended in March 2026 to introduce Annexes III and IV for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, in which Annex III provides detailed guidelines on the assessment of specification requirements. These amendments were made under a project for strengthening capacity in industrial property examination between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the IP Office. Annex III provides detailed instructions on how examiners assess enablement in a pharmaceutical or biotechnology application, and offers examples of acceptable and unacceptable descriptions with regard to the enablement aspect. Enablement Requirements in Pharma and Biotech Patents Article 12.7 of Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN (Circular 10) adds to the requirements of Article 102 of the IP Law that the description must demonstrate the novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability of the technical solution. For pharmaceutical composition subject matters, Article 12.9 of Circular 10 sets out that the description must present the results of clinical trials and/or the pharmacological effects of the claimed pharmaceutical composition, and must include at least the following information: Substance/mixture used. Testing method (system) employed. Information on the test results. Correlation between the pharmacological effects obtained from the tests and the application of the pharmaceutical product in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases. The Guidelines note that pharmacological study results should be presented in a quantified manner, and pharmacological
Read More
June 19, 2026
For the first time, Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a consolidated list identifying all substances that have successfully passed its novel food safety evaluation process. The list is a step forward in regulatory transparency, but it also highlights a feature of the Thai regime that food companies often overlook: each approval is tied exclusively to the company that applied for it. A substance’s appearance on the list does not give other companies the green light to use it. This article examines the structure of Thailand’s novel food approval framework, the implications of applicant exclusivity, and the strategic choices it requires of food companies looking to bring novel ingredients to the Thai market. Thai FDA Food Safety Evaluation Framework Notification No. 376 of the Ministry of Public Health requires novel food substances to undergo a food safety assessment, with an exemption only for novel foods manufactured exclusively for export. The framework also encompasses “foods that do not qualify as novel foods” but which present characteristics warranting a safety evaluation, such as differing quality standards, increased serving sizes, or applications in specific food categories, where such changes affect consumption levels, nutritional value, or consumer safety. The recently published list of foods that passed the safety evaluation by the Thai FDA is structured by substance category and identifies the approved company (domestic manufacturer or importer), country of origin, substance name and trade name, approved purpose of use, and date of the Thai FDA’s approval notification certificate. A notable feature of Thailand’s novel food regime is that the approval result is tied exclusively to the company that submitted the application. Publication of the consolidated list does not constitute a general authorization to use the approved substances. The Thai FDA’s approval certificate specifies the approved conditions of use and the requirements
Read More
June 17, 2026
Thailand’s new labeling requirements for medical devices, which include for the first time a unique device identification (UDI) requirement for software as a medical device (SaMD), take effect on June 20, 2026. The Notification of the Ministry of Public Health regarding Criteria, Methods, and Conditions on Labeling and Instructions for Use for Medical Devices 2025, which replaces a similar notification from 2020, was published in the Government Gazette on December 22, 2025. To ensure clarity, modernity, and patient safety, the regulation requires domestic manufacturers and importers to provide labels and instructions for use (IFU) that are clearly legible, complete, and free of false or misleading claims. It also permits IFU to be provided in electronic format, such as via QR codes, websites, or other digital channels—directly relevant to SaMD, where physical labels are impractical and electronic presentation is the natural medium. The notification distinguishes two categories for labeling language. Home-use medical devices (for lay users outside healthcare facilities) must have labels and IFU in Thai. Professional-use medical devices may display labels and documentation in either Thai or English. This distinction is significant for SaMD developers: software intended for clinical professionals may use English-language interfaces and IFU, while consumer-facing health applications must provide Thai-language content. Labeling and UDI Requirements Labels and IFU must include, at a minimum: Product name and intended purpose Quantity or volume Name and address of domestic manufacturer or importer Thai FDA approval number Lot, version, or serial number Manufacturing date and expiry date For SaMD, the version number requirement is particularly relevant. The regulation also mandates display of a UDI code for SaMD in risk category 2 (moderate-risk), category 3 (moderate- to high-risk), and category 4 (high-risk), according to Thailand’s medical device risk classification system (which complies with the ASEAN Medical Device Directive and the EU
Read More
June 5, 2026
On May 25, 2026, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 16/2026/TT-BYT governing free-of-charge medicine support programs for medical establishments (Circular 16). Circular 16 will take effect on July 10, 2026, replacing Circular No. 31/2018/TT-BYT, which currently regulates the same subject matter. Circular 16 introduces several significant changes compared to the existing legal framework. Removal of Prior Approval Requirement Under the current regulations, free-of-charge medicine support programs are divided into two categories: (1) entirely free-of-charge provision of medicines for all types of drugs and (2) partially free-of-charge provision applicable only to brand-name drugs under patent protection or drugs whose generic products with identical active ingredients and dosage forms are available in Vietnam. Under the current regulations, partially free-of-charge programs are subject to mandatory registration with the competent authority, while entirely free-of-charge programs could be implemented without prior approval. A key reform under Circular 16 is that it stipulates only entirely free-of-charge medicine support programs applicable to all types of medicines, thereby eliminating the partially free-of-charge category. In addition, free-of-charge medicine support programs may be carried out solely based on a written agreement between the pharmaceutical company and the medical establishment, without any requirement for prior approval from competent authorities prior to implementation. Written Agreement Requirements Circular 16 requires the pharmaceutical company and medical establishment to enter into a written agreement in accordance with a prescribed template. This agreement must include the following compulsory information: Information on the supported medicines Form of support (entirely free-of-charge provision to patients) Quantity of medicines provided Target patient groups and applicable indications Duration of the program Rights and obligations of each party Transitional provisions on the protection of patients’ rights upon completion of the program The agreement may contain other contents as agreed by the parties, provided that these do not contradict applicable laws.
Read More