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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comments on a proposal to require information from alcoholic beverage manufacturers for a follow-up study of the self-regulatory efforts of the alcoholic beverage industry.  The information collected will be used in the FTC’s fourth major report on the effectiveness of voluntary industry guidelines for reducing advertising and marketing to underage audiences by beer, wine, and distilled spirits manufacturers.

The FTC has published a second notice in the Federal Register that describes proposed information requests to alcoholic beverage manufacturers.  The notice is required to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue the proposed information requests.   A summary of the proposed specifications is available on the FTC website.

The FTC seeks public comments on the notice.  Comments, which must be received by Dec. 29, 2011, will be considered before the Commission submits a request for OMB review of the proposal under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the “Supplementary Information” section.  Electronic comments can be submitted using a web-based form.  Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to:  Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.  The FTC requests that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.  (FTC File No. P114503; The staff contacts in the Bureau of Consumer Protection are Janet Evans, 202-326-2125, and Carolyn L. Hann, 202-326-2745.)

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.  To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC=s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).  The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  The FTC=s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

(Alcholol study fr notice FYI)