www.alkoholpolitik.ch

Attorneys general from 24 states have asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to do more to shield teenagers from alcohol advertising. A letter, written by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and signed by colleagues from 23 other states, proposes a three-step plan to regulate teens’ exposure to alcohol ads, the Deseret News reports. (Source: Join Together, 04/29/11)

South African media’s indecision to support alcohol advertising ban could be linked to the fact that media companies stand to lose huge revenues if the legislation were to come into effect, one media analyst charged this week. Shepherd Mpofu, of Wits University’s Department of Media Studies, said there is no logical reason why the media have to support a move that will have a negative consequence on them. …It was reported last week that the media have agreed to support the proposed ban, but that statement has since been denied and corrected by the South African National Editor’s Forum (SANEF), which confirmed that it will instead throw its weight behind the campaign against alcohol abuse, as it does not have a position on the proposed alcohol advertising ban.
… „The government has a right to be worried about these effects. Crime is increasing, and the spread of sexual transmissible diseases, poor work output, poor performance at school and a lot of other societal malfunctions are just some of the few effects of alcohol abuse.“
The Soul City Institute insists that an independent and vibrant media is uniquely poised to unpack and critically interrogate the role of alcohol advertising and marketing, and shape the public debate around alcohol-related harm reduction.
Mpofu said: „If the media were to play a responsible role in society, then there is every reason to support the ban on alcohol advertising. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/25/11) bizcommunity.com, 04/19/11

Calling the new fruity alcoholic drink Blast by Colt 45 “binge-in-a-can,” 17 attorneys general are asking the drink’s maker, Pabst Brewing Co., to stop marketing the beverage to underage drinkers and to significantly reduce the number of servings of alcohol in each can.
The drink, being promoted by rapper Snoop Dogg, comes in a colorful can containing 23.5 ounces, with an alcohol content of 12 percent—more than most cans of beer, CNN reports. (Source: Join Togerther, 04/22/11)

Ample survey research has shown that alcohol portrayals in movies affect the development of alcohol consumption in youth. Hence, there is preliminary evidence that alcohol portrayals in movies also directly influence viewers’ drinking of alcohol while watching movies. One process that might account for these direct effects is imitation. The present study therefore examined whether young people imitate actors sipping alcohol on screen. … We observed sipping behaviours of 79 young adults (ages 18–25) watching a 60-min movie clip, ‘What Happens in Vegas’, in a semi-naturalistic home setting. …
The findings showed that participants were more likely to sip in accordance with the actors’ sipping than without such a cue. Further, we found that men were more likely to imitate actors’ sipping than females and that participants tended to respond to actors’ sipping at the beginning of the movie rather than at the end.
Exposure to actors sipping alcohol in a movie seems to have an immediate impact on the drinking behaviour of viewers, via the mechanism of imitation. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/21/11)

In February 2011 the Dutch Directorate for Media ruled that the STER (Stichting Ether Reklame), the organisation responsible for providing the commercials to public channels in the Netherlands, had violated the new Dutch Media Law. The STER received a fine of 35.000 euro for broadcasting TV alcohol commercials for Heineken and Bavaria beer before 9 p.m. in 2010. The complaints were filed by the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy (STAP).
Since the 1st of January 2010 a legal watershed ban on alcohol advertising came into force in The Netherlands. Between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. alcohol commercials are not allowed to be broadcasted on radio and television. Sponsoring of programs by alcohol advertisers is still allowed. … (Source: Eurocare Newsletter March-April 2011)

In the framework of the PROTECT project, a meeting with all stakeholders involved in alcohol labelling policy was organized by the CRIOC and Eurocare on the 17th of March 2011 in the European Parliament in Brussels. The European institutions (European Commission – EC – and Parliament – EP), the beverage industry, consumer organisations, NGOs, media, youth organizations as well as the public were invited to exchange around measurable best practices on alcohol labelling.
The seminar was hosted by Alyn Smith (The Green /EFA Alliance in the EP), who said in his introductory speech that “even though the EU does not have direct competence in health matters, all members states could greatly benefit from such meetings, in order to exchange ideas and best practices”. He was in this sense “delighted to see representatives from all stakeholders, especially from the industry” since he does not believe in “digging trenches” but rather in “open and genuine debates”. The complete program, all the presentations as well as video recordings of the different speakers can be found here.(pdf) (Source: Alcohol Reports, 04/13/11)

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The U.S Federal Trade Commission, in response to wildly proliferating alcohol advertising in both traditional and new media, is conducting another review of the effectiveness of the alcohol industry’s self-regulation. The agency is seeking comments from the public, so we need your help.
In our 2008 report titled „Why Big Alcohol Can’t Police Itself: A Review of Self-Regulation in the Distilled Spirits Industry,“ Marin Institute concluded that the industry’s voluntary guidelines fail to protect underage youth from exposure to inappropriate alcohol advertising. If you’re concerned about the effects of alcohol advertising on our youth, please submit your comments here, by Tuesday, April 26. To read Marin Institute’s comments, click here. Please submit your comments to the FTC today.

What Is Not on The Bottle?
Brussels, 17 March 2011. Pick up just about any food or beverage product on store shelves and you’ll find on the package information about calories, ingredients etc. Unless that is, the product is alcohol. Alcohol is one of the leading risk factors for death and ill health in the EU, especially among young people. It increases the risk of developing several types of cancer including those of the liver, digestive tract as well as breast cancer, it is responsible for 25% of deaths among young men aged 15-29, causes depression etc.
Shouldn’t consumers be informed about the potential health effects of its consumption? Why we do not know how many calories a glass of wine has?
Today politicians, public health experts and alcohol industry met at the European Parliament to discuss labelling of alcoholic beverages, what would be effective and why it should be done at the EU level. Click here to read more about the event and watch the video of the seminar. Comment: Article with details on alcohol harm in Europe.

Alcohol marketing on television is banned in Sweden, but since 2003 a number of TV channels have circumvented the Swedish Alcohol Act by broadcasting from the UK. It has been possible, but whether it is legal or not is not yet clear.
That is why IOGT-NTO has sent a complaint on the fourth of March, concerning 32 companies who have broadcasted or produced alcohol advertisement targeting a Swedish audience, to the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Broadcasting Authority. The list includes among others Carlsberg Sweden, TV3 and Kanal 5.
‘It is obviously a problem that a number of companies can ignore the Swedish legislation’, says Sara Heine, handling the complaint from IOGT-NTO. (Source: EUCAM, 03/04/11)

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has praised a private member’s bill put forward in parliament today by Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes. Dr Wollaston will put forward proposals to limit the exposure of children and young people to alcohol advertising as a Ten Minute Rule Motion. (Source: Medical News Today, 03/31/11)