www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Various state attorneys general and advocacy groups in the USA are calling for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to ban caffeine-infused alcohol drinks from the market — or at a minimum add warning labels stating that combining caffeine and alcohol can cause health risks. (Source: Join Together, 8/9/09)

Among the most striking of the many statistical tables in the Law Commission report discussing reform of our liquor laws is one that shows we’re not drinking as much as we used to. (30 years ago) (Source: Harvard World Health News, 8/7/09) New Zealand Herald, 8/2/09 Comment: Some interesting arguments which we cannot see in Europe’s media. In most of the European countries the consumption per head has gone down in the last 30 years, but the harm has gone up.

Enforced since 22 July 2009:
– Ban on selling alcohol to minors under 18 (versus 16 before) [was demanded by Anpaa]
– Ban on free offer of alcohol (open bars) [was demanded by Anpaa].
– Sale in petrol stations is forbidden between 6pm and 8am (versus 10pm and 6am before)
[Anpaa supported a total ban].
Unfortunately advertising for alcoholic drinks on internet is allowed but under the same conditions as those for the press and the billboards (loi Evin)* : ads are not authorized on web sites used by young people or edited by sport organisations. This will be difficult to control! When ads are authorized, it is under the reserve that they are neither intrusiv nor interstitial [Anpaa tried sucessless to negociate a total ban with only an authorization for advertising on the industry’s web sites].
*Reminder : advertising, is forbidden namely on TV and cinema, press magazine for youth…and when authorized ads are strictly controlled. Sponsoring is also forbidden. (From ANPAA, 8/6/09)

Mainly European News on alcohol politics. (not yet online) Contact Eurocare

The Seventh Report on the application of the „Television without frontiers directive“ has been adopted on 26 June 2009. This report looks at the application of the Television without Frontiers Directive in the Member States in 2007 and 2008. During this two-year period, the Commission was required to initiate legal action against Spain and Italy in accordance with the Directive for not abiding by EU advertising rules that limit advertising and teleshopping spots to 12 minutes per hour. The 7th application report also adds analysis to the ongoing evolution of the television market.
The next report on Europe’s audiovisual market will be at the end of 2011. It will mark the start of the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which replaces the Television without Frontiers Directive and is expected to be fully implemented across the EU by December 2009. (Source: Eurocare Newsletter June-July, 7/28/2009) ec.europa.eu Comment: This directive plays an important role in the debate in the Swiss parliament on the Media-Contract between Switzerland and the EU, if Switzerland wants to accept alcohol advertising from EU-countries TV-programmes.

The Flying Fish Brewing Co. may have thought naming its beers after exits on the New Jersey Turnpike was a clever marketing move, but highway-safety groups are not amused by the association between drinking and driving. (Source: Join Together, 7/28/09)

* Meeting 09 June 2009, * Mapping Exercise – Targeting youth – Social Marketing – Self Regulation

EUCAM has released its newest trend report called: Corporate Social Responsibility: the New Marketing Tool. From its conclusions: „By including the brand name in social responsible campaigns, brand awareness and brand recognition are raised. Therefore, it is safe to label such campaigns as advertisements. In these campaigns the alcohol producers claim to contribute to the solving of alcohol related problems. Thus far, those claims have not been scrutinized well enough to say that they do, or do not, hold water. What we can say is that comparable CSR campaigns of the tobacco industry have been proven to have no effect or even undesirable effects on behavioral changes (14).“ (Source: EUCAM, 7/18/09) (see also the new campaign by the British Government with the alkohol industry)

Project Idea
– To reduce many problems which all are connected with alcohol consumption:
– Poverty
– Children and youth in families with alcohol problems
– Problems in partnership, domestic violence, divorce, children of divorced parents
– Criminality an violence, violence by youth, sexual violence, unintended pregnancy
– Drink driving, death and invalidity
– Alcohol on the work place, absenteeism, wrong decisions, economic damage
– Youth alcoholism, old age alcoholism, addiction, about 60 different deseases in connection with alcohol (WHO), a burden for hospitals, health and other insurence premiums, states taxes
– In total 6.5 Billion Swiss Francs each year and a terrible lot of human tragedies and harm

– New chances for youth in sports, fine arts, as well as for youth organizations, sports organizations, music teachers – if they keep to preventive basic ideas
– New chances for the marketing people to forget about unethical campaigns
– Possibilities for fruit- and winefarmers to compensate income losses as a result of a reduction in consumption
– All would have a profit in health, security, quality of life, financially

Here is the link to the details

Has anyone else noticed what I think is a hypocritical approach shown by Newstalk when it comes to discussing alcohol and the problems caused by it? There seems to be hardly a morning goes by on Newstalk where they’re not discussing, at some point, the evils and dangers and problems caused by Ireland’s excessive drinking. News reports, new research, doctors, addiction counsellors, victims etc warning us to scale back on consumption. All solemn talk for the betterment of the nation they’d have us think. – Then after lunch you’d think you’d changed channels. …(Source: Google Alkohol News, 7/1/09) politics.ie, 6/30/09

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