We have fond memories of sipping on our beloved Frooti in those tiny tetra packs. The good old days of collecting 5- and 10-rupee coins to get our hands on the most colorful tetra pack drinks! But, what if we tell you that today those same tetra packs serve alcohol in them as well? Even if it might be a bit of a shocker to you, it is a bold and thoughtful move taken by some state governments. Gone are the days when only kids enjoyed fruit juices and buttermilk from tetra packs, it’s time for the adults to have some fun too!
Alcohol Laws In India
Alcohol is a subject in the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution Of India. As a result, the laws governing the sale and distribution of alcohol vary from state to state. Simply put, the same rules that apply to alcohol in, let’s say, Maharashtra, might not be applicable to those in Uttar Pradesh, and might even vary. So, the state has full control over the production, distribution, sale, legal age, permits, and even the packaging of alcohol.
States even have different legal drinking ages – Maharashtra’s legal age for hard liquor is 25 years, while that for Kerala is 23 years and Assam’s stands at 21. Some states have even gone a step further and imposed a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol. These are called ‘dry states’ and include the states of Gujarat, Nagaland, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, and Bihar.
Will Tetra Packs Save Lives?
With tons of private labels and manufacturers gaining foothold in the Indian alcohol market, the state governments are putting effort to make alcohol more convenient and economically sustainable for the average buyer. This is an attempt to prevent people with low budgets from buying illegally made alcohol, which can often be fatal.
There have been multiple such cases in India where locals, in the search for cheap alcohol, have fallen prey to toxic alcohol. These deaths are often a result of methanol poisoning in the alcohol. The 2016 Bihar alcohol poisoning is an important alcohol-poisoning tragedy – it killed 16 people who consumed hooch (spurious liquor) and complained of severe stomach ache and nausea. This raises the question: will selling alcohol in tetra packs then save lives?
How Do Tetra Packs Have An Upper Hand?
Alcohol distillers agree with this decision almost unanimously. Tetra packs save them packaging costs and the product is safer that way, compared to the conventional method of glass bottle packaging. The latter is prone to breakage and can cause severe losses because of the same.
Apart from this, tetra packs come with several advantages that are mentioned below:
- Protection Against Adulteration: Tetra packs are super-hard to tamper with and as a result are protected from adulteration at the hands of a third party.
- Cheaper To Package: The cost of packaging alcohol in tetra packs, compared to glass bottles, is significantly lower. This saves a huge amount of capital that is conventionally spent on packaging glass bottles.
- Ease Of Transport: Not only cheaper, but tetra packs are also easier to transport and distribute. This is because they are comparatively lighter in weight and are less prone to damage compared to glass bottles.
- Convenient And Portable: Tetra packs offer alcohol in lower quantity, such as 90 ml or 180 ml. This way, buyers can conveniently buy these packs without having to buy an entire bottle of 750 ml.
- Affordable For Most Buyers: State governments are planning to introduce tetra pack-based alcohol at a base price of INR 60 to 70. This is an attempt to offer higher-quality alcohol to the average alcohol consumer at a cheaper price.
Summing Up
Currently, the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh are selling alcohol in tetra packs. You’ll be amazed to see small 90 ml tetra packs lined up neatly on shelves of several retailers in these states. So, the next time you are in these states, don’t forget to get your hands on these tetra packs. This move of turning to tetra packs from glass bottles is surely a noble attempt to reduce alcohol-related deaths and make it more accessible, but will the paper packaging harm the environment more than doing good to its consumers?
FAQs
Do People Drink Alcohol In Gujarat?
Gujarat is one of India’s ‘dry states’. So, legally, no resident is allowed to partake in the sale and consumption of alcohol.
Which State Drinks The Most Alcohol In India?
Arunachal Pradesh has the highest rate of alcohol consumption in India, with around 53% of its men and 24% of its women consuming alcohol on a regular basis.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Tetra Pack?
Tetra pack cartons are made in the form of paperboard (wood), with thin layers of aluminum and polyethylene. Their main drawback is that they can’t be fully recycled, and often contain nano preservatives.
