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Eurocare and Members join the European
Commission’s Alcohol and Health Forum
Brussels,
7 June. 7th June marked the launch of the European Commission’s Alcohol
and Health Forum, a multistakeholder platform bringing together civil
society and businesses pledging to take action to reduce alcohol related
harm in Europe. Eurocare welcomes the
action oriented remit of the Forum and is committed to fully supporting
DG Sanco, whose work has been pivotal in firmly establishing alcohol on
the EU political agenda. The organisation hopes that all European
alcohol producers and retailers will participate in the Forum, and
commit to evidence based actions, thus explicitly recognising their
responsibilities towards curbing alcohol related harm in
Europe, in particular among young people.
The
Alcohol and Health Forum represents a cornerstone of the European
Commission’s ‘EU Strategy to Support Member States in Reducing Alcohol
Related Harm’. The Strategy, released last October, addresses the
adverse health effects related to harmful and hazardous alcohol
consumption as well as the related economic and social consequences. The
Council of Ministers first voiced the need for a comprehensive EU level
strategy in 2001; despite the efforts and mobilisation of both DG Sanco
and Europe’s public health community to
protect the health and well being of European citizens, the final
strategy reflected the alcohol industry’s intensive and unprecedented
lobbying campaign. Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou shared this
concern at the time and admitted that he had been “surprised at the
aggressiveness of the lobbying campaign by certain parts of the alcohol
industry (which) created doubts as to their willingness to cooperate”.
Participation in the Forum and voluntary commitment to concrete action,
is crucial for these sections of the alcohol industry, in order to
regain credibility, promote corporate social responsibility, and above
all, avoid the implementation of EU level legislation.
The Forum,
hosted by DG Sanco, is modelled on the EU Platform on Diet, Physical
Activity and Health, launched in March 2005. It focuses on concrete
commitments for action, which will be assessed, monitored and evaluated
with the assistance of a Science Group. The ‘Committee on National
Policy and Action’, a structure separate to the Forum composed of Member
States representatives, will coordinate national alcohol policies and
ensure translational exchange of good practice.
Andrew McNeill,
Honorary Secretary of Eurocare said: “We welcome the presence of a
Science Group, to ensure that industry commitments are evidence based
and relevant. Most importantly, we are pleased to see a clear separation
between the Forum as a platform for action, and the Committee on
National Policy and Action as one for policy discussion among member
states: we believe public health policies on alcohol should be
formulated without the interference of commercial interests”.
The
following members of Eurocare have pledged to participate in the Alcohol
and Health Forum:
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Institute of
Alcohol
Studies, UK
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Association Nationale de
Prévention en Alcoologie et Addictologie (ANPAA), France
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Eurocare Italia,
Italy
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Deutsche Hauptstelle fuer
Suchtfragen (DHS), Germany
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Alcohol Action
Ireland
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IOGT-NTO
Sweden
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National Foundation for Alcohol Prevention (STAP),
Netherlands
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Temperance
Union,
Estonia
Charter
establishing the European Alcohol and Health Forum
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/alcohol_charter_en.htm
European
Commission Press Release, Alcohol and Health Forum
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/774&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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