UK: the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs calls for a prohibition of Alcohol advertising on TV
The ACMD [1] published in september 2006, a report entitled "Pathways to problems - Hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs by young people in the UK and its implications for policy".
Although the report focuses on drugs and tobacco, as well as alcohol, the authors notes that "of all drugs, the use of alcohol has shown the greatest recent growth and causes the most widespread problems among young people in the UK today. It is also the least regulated and the most heavily marketed."
The report concludes that education in schools has very limited effectiveness and can even be counterproductive. It should be noted that the EU strategy on alcohol related harm puts a predominant focus on education measures.
As a result the AMCD are calling for a number of measures to be implemented in the UK where the level of alcohol consumption among young people has doubled in the past 10 to 12 years:
1. Tobacco and Alcohol shall be included within the terms of reference of the ACMD and thus considered as drugs.
2. The government shall raise the excise duty on alcohol, given the strong evidence that inceasing the price of alcohol reduces consumption.
3. Prohibiting alcohol advertising on TV and in cinemas
4. Prohibiting sponsorship by alcohol companies of sports and music events attended and watched by under-18s
5. The age-of-purchase laws for tobacco and alcohol should be more strictly applied
6. A greater emphasis shall be directed towards protecting and supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people, as poverty increases the risk to becoming involved in hazardous use of alcohol
7. Stricter measures on drink-driving shall be enforced
Towards banning alcohol advertising in Finland before 9pm
The Finnish Government are very active on the issue of alcohol and are aiming to introduce a watershed to prevent the screening of alcohol advertisements before 9pm.
The legislative proposal which is to be presented to Parliament is facing opposition from Finnish television stations who have agreed on a watershed but who are against the regulatory means of implementation: Finnish television stations are claiming that self-regulation would be a quicker and more effective way of enforcing the 9pm watershed.
However the Ministerial adviser from the Ministry of Social Affairs and health is not in favour of self regulation which would enable companies to choose if the watershed applies to them and which is unlikely to lead to penalties for those who do not abide by the watershed.
As a matter of fact, the European Commission’s proposal to revise the "Television Without Frontiers" plans self-regulatory measures to implement the TWF rules.
Alcohol on the EU agenda
The ’Alcohol Strategy’: a missed opportunity to protect health
EU Alcohol Strategy: People or profits - Who’s being served? - Eurocare press release
Combating alcohol-related harm in Europe - evidence of effective and cost-effective measures
Television Without Frontiers: an opportunity to protect minors
Regulation of Television Advertising: the devil is in the detail
Civil society calls on MEPs to vote ’not before 9’ for alcohol adverts on TV
