Alcohol Legislation Takes A New Turn: Canned Cocktails, Direct-to-Consumer Shipping, and More

At the end of each year, our policy analysts share insights on the issues that have been at the forefront of state legislatures throughout the session during their review of thousands of bills across all 50 states. Here are the big developments and high-level trends we saw last year in the alcohol policy space, plus what you can expect in 2026. 

Shifting consumer habits and public health priorities continued to reshape the alcoholic beverage landscape in 2025. With alcohol consumption declining, driven largely by growing health concerns, Alaska's legislation requiring cancer warning signage at bars and liquor stores may signal action on health warning labels by other states in the future. Meanwhile, the industry saw efforts to expand direct-to-consumer shipping in several states and increased interest in the licensing and regulation of canned cocktail manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

2025 State Alcohol Legislative Recap

Cancer Warning Requirements Expand Beyond California

In 2025, Alaska became the second state in the country to require bars and liquor stores to post warning signs about the potential for alcohol to cause cancer, following California. Four other states, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, introduced similar legislation, either requiring warning signs or requiring a cancer warning label to be placed directly on the bottle. These bills echo a recommendation made by the U.S. surgeon general in January 2025 for alcohol to carry a cancer warning label, similar to cigarettes.

Canned Cocktail Regulation Takes Center Stage

Canned cocktails, also called ready-to-drink or pre-mixed cocktails, were a priority issue for states. Around 30 bills were introduced, with most aimed at levying or clarifying applicable taxes on canned cocktails. Some bills also sought to more clearly define canned cocktails by setting a range or maximum alcohol by volume (ABV) for these beverages in their alcohol laws. Legislation introduced in Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Texas specified various ABV limits, from a low of 7% in Hawaii to a high of 15% in Maine, though none of these bills were enacted. State legislators also introduced bills aimed at regulating or expanding the manufacture, distribution, and sale of these products including Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas. Bills introduced in Texas and Oregon would have allowed certain current license holders to manufacture, distribute, or sell canned cocktails, while lawmakers in North Carolina and Alabama proposed creating new licensing schemes. Similar to the ABV legislation introduced, none of these bills were enacted.

Direct-to-Consumer Alcohol Shipping Legislation Surges

Over 50 bills relating to the direct shipment of alcohol to consumers were introduced during the 2024-25 session. Some states introduced legislation expanding the types of alcoholic beverages that may be shipped directly to consumers to include malt beverages and liquors, including Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas. Lawmakers also introduced bills creating new licensing schemes and fees for the direct shipment of certain alcoholic beverages, with lawmakers in Arkansas and Mississippi enacting direct shipper licensing legislation. Notably, U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced a bill allowing the U.S. Postal Service to ship alcoholic beverages directly to consumers when mailed by a registered and approved winery, brewery, distiller, or other wholesaler, distributor, importer, or retailer of alcohol. The bill, called the United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act, is identical to legislation introduced in 2023 and has not had any action since being referred to committee in April.

2026 Alcohol Policy Outlook and Federal Mandates

In 2026, states are likely to continue introducing legislation requiring clearer labeling of health information on alcoholic beverages or requiring signage to be posted in certain alcoholic beverage retail locations. A legislator in New Hampshire has already pre-filed cancer warning legislation for the upcoming session. Additionally, 2026 could also see big changes regarding drunk driving surveillance. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act mandates the National Highway Safety Administration to issue a rule for advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology to be standard in all new vehicles, with 2026 being the earliest implementation year of the new rules.

Tracking State Tobacco Legislation

MultiState’s team is actively identifying and tracking tobacco issues so that businesses and organizations have the information they need to navigate and effectively engage. If your organization would like to further track these or other related issues, please contact us.