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SB2733
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2733
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to liquor
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that the United States Surgeon General has determined that
the consumption of liquor and alcoholic beverages increases the risk of
cancer.
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Leading national and
international health authorities classify liquor and alcoholic beverages as
group 1 carcinogens that are causally linked to at least seven types of cancer,
including breast cancer in women, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer,
mouth cancer, throat cancer, and voice box cancer.
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Accordingly, liquor and alcohol consumption
is responsible for a substantial share of preventable cancer cases and deaths
each year.
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The legislature further finds that the risk
of liquor- and alcohol-related cancer increases proportionally to the amount of
liquor or alcohol that one consumes.
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For
some types of cancer, however, the risk increases even at low levels of liquor
and alcohol consumption, such as for breast cancer in females.
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Fewer than half of American adults are aware
that drinking liquor or alcohol may cause cancer, underscoring the need for clear,
factual cancer-risk warnings for liquor and alcohol consumption to enable
consumers to make informed choices.
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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
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(1)
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Require
an advertisement for liquor or alcohol to include a cancer-risk warning;
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(2)
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Establish
guidelines for cancer-risk warnings included in advertisements for liquor or
alcohol; and
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(3)
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Establish
penalties for an advertiser that fails to include a compliant cancer-risk
warning in an advertisement for liquor or alcohol.
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SECTION 2.
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This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Alcohol and Liquor
Advertising Cancer-Risk Warning Act".
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SECTION 3.
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Chapter 281, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to
be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"
Part
.
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cancer-risk
warnings in liquor advertisements
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�281-A
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Definitions.
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As used in this
part:
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"Advertisement" or
"advertising" means any paid or in-kind communication, marketing, or
promotion of any liquor, alcoholic beverage, beverage containing liquor, or brand
of alcoholic beverage or liquor, other than labeling or packaging, that is
disseminated through print, digital, audio, video, outdoor, transit,
point-of-sale display, event sponsorship material, social media, or any other
mass media channel.
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"Advertiser" means a
manufacturer, importer, distributor, wholesaler, retailer, alcohol- and
liquor-delivery marketplace, or any agent or affiliate who creates places, or
pays for an advertisement.
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"Department" means the department
of health.
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"Digital advertisement" means any
advertisement delivered through a website, mobile application, streaming audio
or video, social media, search engine, or digital out-of-home screen.
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"Label" and "labeling"
shall have the same meaning as defined in title 27 Code of Federal Regulations.
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"Point-of-sale display" means any
non-price advertising sign or display at a retail location that advertises a
brand of alcoholic beverage or promotes liquor consumption.
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�281-B
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Cancer-risk warning; liquor advertisements; required; alternative
statements; modifications; prohibited.
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(a)
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Beginning January 1, 2027, an
advertisement for liquor shall clearly and conspicuously include one of the
following cancer-risk warning statements:
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(1)
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"Drinking
alcohol and liquor causes cancer, including breast and colorectal cancer";
or
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(2)
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"The
Surgeon General has advised that alcohol and liquor cause cancer, including
breast and colorectal cancer".
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(b)
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The department may authorize equivalent factual statements that:
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(1)
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Convey
the same material risk information;
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(2)
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Are
supported by the best available public health evidence; and
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(3)
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Are
not less prominently displayed than the statement required under subsection
(a).
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(c)
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An advertiser shall not add any text, image, or sound that contradicts
or diminishes the cancer-risk warning.
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(d)
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In addition to the cancer-risk warning required under this section, the
department may issue alternative warnings for narrowly-targeted campaigns,
including but not limited to pregnancy risks and impaired driving risks
associated with the consumption of liquor.
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�281-C
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Visual advertisements; audio-only
advertisements; digital advertisements; out-of-home advertisements; point-of-sale
display advertisements; retail licensees; requirements.
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(a)
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A cancer-risk
warning required by section 281-B included in a visual advertisement for liquor,
including a print, outdoor, static, digital, or video advertisement, shall:
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(1)
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Occupy
not less than fifteen per cent of the total display area of the advertisement;
provided that for a video advertisement, a cancer-risk warning shall:
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(A)
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Occupy
not less than ten per cent of the total display area of the advertisement; and
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(B)
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Be
displayed for the entire duration of the video advertisement;
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(2)
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Be
displayed on a high-contrast solid background in sans-serif font with a minimum
font size of not less than four per cent of the height of the advertisement;
provided that for a video or digital advertisement, the minimum font size shall
be not less than four per cent of the height in pixels;
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(3)
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Be
displayed as a continuous text block aligned to the left or center with a
one-point border and a cap-height padding of not less than half-a-point;
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(4)
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Be
displayed in the upper quarter of the advertisement or immediately adjacent to
the principal claim or product image; and
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(5)
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Not
be rotated or obscured.
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(b)
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An audio-only advertisement for liquor, including a radio, streaming
audio, or podcast advertisement, shall include the cancer-risk warning required
by section 281-B, which shall be:
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(1)
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Preceded
by an announcement of the word "warning";
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(2)
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Not
less than four seconds in duration; and
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(3)
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Plainly
audible and spoken at a normal pace.
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(c)
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An audio-visual advertisement for liquor shall include the cancer-risk
warning required by section 281-B that meets the requirements described in
subsections (a) and (b).
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(d)
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A digital advertisement for liquor shall include the cancer-risk warning
required by section 281-B, which shall:
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(1)
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Be
displayed on the landing screen without user action and shall remain visible
for not less than five seconds before any action to dismiss the warning becomes
available to the user;
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(2)
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For
a responsive layout, be scaled to maintain the minimum area and height
requirements described in subsection (a); or
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(3)
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For
a short-form video not more than fifteen seconds in duration, be displayed
on-screen for the entirety of the short-form video.
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(e)
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An out-of-home advertisement for liquor, including any advertisement
displayed on a billboard or public transit, shall include the cancer-risk
warning required by section 281-B that:
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(1)
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Meets
the requirements described in subsection (a); and
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(2)
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Is
legible from a reasonable viewing distance; provided that the department may
adopt rules to regulate minimum letter heights in accordance with the
dimensions of a sign.
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(f)
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A point-of-sale display advertisement for liquor, including endcaps,
brand signage, shelf talkers with dimensions larger than fifteen square inches,
shall include the cancer-risk warning required by section 281-B, which shall be
not less than five inches in height and seven inches in width or fifteen per
cent of the display area, whichever is greater.
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(g)
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A retail licensee that sells liquor to consumers for off-premises
consumption shall display at least one cancer-risk warning notice that shall
be:
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(1)
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Approved
by the department; and
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(2)
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Not
less than eleven inches in height and seventeen inches in width.
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(h)
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The department shall provide the cancer-risk warning template in
compliance with subsection (g) at no cost to a retail licensee.
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�281-D
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Exemptions.
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(a)
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This part shall not apply to any label,
labeling, or packaging requirements for liquor to the extent governed by Alcohol
and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau standards adopted pursuant to title 27 Code of
Federal Regulations.
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(b)
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The
following shall be exempt from the requirements of this part:
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(1)
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Any
content promoting the purchase or consumption of liquor not paid for by an
advertiser;
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(2)
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A
promotional item with a total printable area not more than nine square inches;
provided that any advertisement accompanying the promotional item shall be in
compliance with the requirements of this part; and
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(3)
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A
price-only sign on the premises of a retail licensee that displays only
numerals, unit descriptions, and required disclosures.
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�281-E
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Penalties; enforcement; liability; recordkeeping required.
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(a)
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An
advertiser who violates this part shall be subject to a fine of not more than:
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(1)
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$1,000
per noncompliant advertisement for a first violation;
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(2)
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$5,000
per noncompliant advertisement for a second violation within twelve months of
the first violation; and
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(3)
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$10,000
per noncompliant advertisement for a subsequent violation within twelve months
of a second or previous violation.
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(b)
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Each noncompliant advertisement for liquor shall constitute a separate
violation.
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(c)
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For a digital advertisement, an enforcing agency shall issue written
notice to the retail licensee and allow the retail licensee not more than
seventy-two hours to cure the violation before assessing a penalty for a first
violation by that advertiser in a twelve-month period.
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(d)
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A third-party platform or publisher shall not be liable for a violation
of this part; provided that the third-party platform or publisher:
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(1)
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Implements
and maintains standard processes to ensure that cancer-risk warnings are
included in advertisements and in compliance with this part;
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(2)
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Provides
written notice to advertisers of the requirements of this part; and
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(3)
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Promptly
removes or corrects noncompliant advertisements upon notice from the department.
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(e)
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An advertiser shall retain for not less than two years any media buys,
creative proofs, and ad-server screenshots sufficient to demonstrate compliance
with this part to the department.
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An
advertiser shall produce the required material to an enforcing agency upon
request.
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(f)
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For the purposes of this section, "enforcing agency" means the
department of the attorney general, department of commerce and consumer
affairs, department of health, or appropriate county liquor commission.
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�281-F
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Rules.
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The department shall
adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of this part.
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The rules shall include requirements for:
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(1)
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Model
artwork files, including vector and raster, minimum pixel sizes, contrast
ratios, and typography specifications for cancer-risk warnings; and
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(2)
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The
languages into which an advertiser shall translate cancer-risk warnings."
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SECTION 4.
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In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the
revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the
letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Department
of Health; Department of the Attorney General; Liquor Commissions; Intoxicating
Liquor; Advertisements; Cancer-Risk Warnings; Penalties
Description:
Requires
an advertisement for liquor or alcohol to include a cancer-risk warning.
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Establishes guidelines for cancer-risk
warnings included in advertisements for liquor or alcohol.
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Establishes penalties for an advertiser that
fails to include a compliant cancer-risk warning in an advertisement for liquor
or alcohol.
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Effective 1/1/2027.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.