Events
Report
Prof. Thomas F. Babor, Ph.D, M.P.H. Professor and Chairman of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA:
Communicating About Alcohol:
Educational and Regulatory Policies
(Power Point presentation)
Text Version
Some Conclusions:
|
•The
impact of education and persuasion programs tends to be small at
best.
•When
positive effects are found, they do not persist.
•Among
the hundreds of studies, only two show significant lasting effects
(after 3 years), and the significance of these is questionable
when reanalyzed (Foxcroft et al. 2003).
•The
time is past for arguments on behalf of substituting
education for other, more effective approaches.
•If
educational approaches are to be used, they should be implemented
within the framework of broader environmental interventions that
address availability of alcohol.
•Exposure
to repeated high-level alcohol promotion inculcates
pro-drinking attitudes and increases the likelihood of heavier
drinking.
•Alcohol
advertising predisposes minors to drinking well before legal
age of purchase.
•Advertising
has been found to promote and reinforce perceptions of drinking
as positive, glamorous, and relatively risk-free.
Legislation restricting alcohol advertising:
•A well-established precaution used by governments throughout the world, despite opposition from the alcoholic beverage industry. •Findings suggest that while the restrictions have not
achieved a major reduction in drinking and related harms in the
short-term, countries with greater restrictions on advertising
have less drinking and fewer alcohol-related problems (Saffer,
1991).
Industry Self-regulation Codes:
•Self-regulation tends to be fragile and largely ineffective
•These codes may work best where the media, advertising, and
alcohol industries are all involved, and an independent body has
powers to approve or veto advertisements, rule on complaints,
and impose sanctions.
•Few countries currently have all these components.
•
Best Practices:
•
Conclusions:
••Opportunities
for effective, evidence-based alcohol policies are more
available than ever to better serve the public good.
•Popular policy options (e.g., school-based alcohol education) have relatively small or zero effects on population rates of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. •Unpopular policy options (e.g., alcohol taxes, availability restrictions) can have substantial effects. •The Precautionary Principle suggests that alcohol promotion communications should be limited in the interests of public health, and that alcohol education should not be a substitute for more effective strategies. •There are still too many instances of policy vacuums filled by unevaluated or ineffective strategies and interventions. •Industry-sponsored education programs should not be used until they have been systematically evaluated by independent researchers. •Industry compliance with self-regulation
advertising codes should be evaluated regularly for both
exposure and content guidelines. |
Additional remarks: (H.T. Meyer)
Science based facts on alcohol problems and prevention seem to be so clear that it is hard to understand how difficult it is still to formulate an effective alcohol policy in each country and even coordinate it internationally. The main reason is: In many countries economic interests are still more important to politicians than Public Health. The cost are paid by the people. Fortunately it seems that more and more persons accept that "Health generates Wealth". (David Byrne, EU-Commissionar for Health and Consumer Protection in his reflexion paper in July 04)
