Advertising in the EU Alcohol Strategy

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Advertising in the EU Alcohol Strategy
EUCAM Alcohol Monitoring ConferenceBrussels 21
November 2008
Dr Jonathan BackUnit 02 Strategy and
AnalysisDirectorate General for Health and
ConsumersEuropean Commission
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Structure of this presentation

• Alcohol advertising in EU-documents preceding the
  EU Alcohol Strategy
• Better Regulation and Round Table on Advertising
  Self-Regulation
• Advertising in the EU Alcohol Strategy
• Implementing the Alcohol Strategy
• Concluding remarks

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Alcohol advertising inEU-documents precedingthe
EU Alcohol Strategy
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Directive 89/552/EEC - Television without
frontiers

• television advertising for alcoholic beverages
  has to comply with various criteria regarding
  content, e.g. not be aimed specifically at
  minors (Art. 15)
• Member States shall ensure compliance with the
  provisions of this Directive by appropriate
  means, within the framework of their legislation
  (Art. 3.2)
• Directive 2007/65/EC (Audiovisual Media Services
  Directive) is similar
• Audiovisual commercial communications media
  services or programmes shall not encourage
  behaviour prejudicial to health or safety
• Audiovisual commercial communications for
  alcoholic beverages shall not be aimed
  specifically at minors and shall not encourage
  immoderate consumption of such beverages

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Council Recommendation 2001/458/EC (Alcohol and
Youth)

• Member States should, having regard to their
  different legal, regulatory, or self-regulatory
  environments, as appropriate encourage, in
  cooperation with the producers and the retailers
  of alcoholic beverages and relevant NGOs, the
  establishment of effective mechanisms in the
  fields of promotion, marketing and retailing
• to ensure that alcoholic beverages are not
  designed or promoted to appeal to children and
  adolescents
• to ensure that alcoholic beverages are not
  designed or promoted to appeal to children and
  adolescents, and paying particular attention
  inter alia, to the following elements
• These elements relate to content and placement

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These documents demonstrate

• A notion at EU-level that especially young
  persons should be protected from exposure to
  alcohol advertising
• Provisions in relevant EU-legislation relate to
  content and placement of alcohol advertising
  (not volume) and leave room for interpretation
• Member States are free to choose appropriate
  means when implementing provisions on alcohol
  advertising
• More straight advertising restrictions, including
  bans, would be possible legally (cf. tobacco and
  medicinal products and medical treatment
  available only on prescription)

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Better Regulation andRound Table on
AdvertisingSelf-Regulation
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Better Regulation

• Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making
  (2003/C 321/01)
• Comprehensive programme some key aspects
• More focus on subsidiarity and proportionality
• Use of alternative methods of regulation, such as
  co-regulation and self-regulation
• Improvement of the pre-legislative consultation
  process and more frequent use of impact
  assessments
• Reducing the administrative burdens (red tape)
• Simplifying and reducing the volume of
  legislation

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Side-step on proportionality

• 2004 two judgements of ECJ (C-249/02 and
  C-262/02) as a result of the application of the
  Loi Evin (ban on alcohol advertising on
  television)
• Rules, such as the Loi Evin, are appropriate to
  ensure their aim of protecting public health.
  Furthermore, they do not go beyond what is
  necessary to achieve such an objective.

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Advertising Round Table

• DG SANCO initiative
• Three one-day sessions between October 2005 and
  May 2006
• Participants (20)
• EASA, SROs, relevant EU industry associations,
  BEUC, EPHA, other DGs
• July 2006 Self-Regulation in the EU
  Advertising Sector A report of some discussion
  among interested parties

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Advertising Round Table

• Goal
• Informing to learn both about and from each
  other in a structured and sustained dialogue
  exchange
• Analysing the clearer definition of a Best
  practice model for self-regulation

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Advertising Round Table

• Main conclusions
• Self-regulation is not an alternative to law. On
  the contrary, it works best within a clear legal
  framework that allows non-legislative approaches
  but also backs them up.
• The legitimacy of SR does not, and could not
  preclude legal bans. SROs may fail or refuse to
  deliver something that public opinion and
  politicians require.
• Self-regulation needs to be trusted in order to
  be effective, and in order to be trusted it has
  to be participative.

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Key determinants of Best Practice Model

• Effectiveness establishing and publishing
  performance objectives, good procedures for
  submitting and handling of complaints, setting
  standards for training advertising staff,
  effective sanctions for non-compliance
• Independence openness and transparency,
  effective contribution of other stakeholders,
  adjudication bodies should be composed of a
  substantial proportion of independent persons
• Coverage not only pure advertising but all
  other form of marketing communication, monitoring
  new trends (e.g. buzz marketing) that may
  escape SR
• Funding strong political support for industry
  voluntary funding is desirable

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Advertising Round Table

• Director-General of SANCO there is evidence for
  the general usefulness of at least two core
  pre-conditions for credible SR
• A sustained openness to dialogue with, and
  participation of, interested non-business players
  in the SR process
• Adequate monitoring and accountability of SR
  performance and outcomes

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Advertising in theEU Alcohol Strategy
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An EU Strategy to support Member States in
reducing alcohol related harm

• Communication from the Commission to the Council,
  the European Parliament etc. (COM(2006) 625
  final)
• The Commission does not intend as a consequence
  of this Communication to propose the development
  of harmonised legislation in the field of the
  prevention of alcohol-related harm

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Commercial Communication

• Commission services to work with stakeholders to
  create sustained momentum for cooperation on
  responsible commercial communication and sales
• Main aim will be to support EU and national/local
  Government action to prevent irresponsible
  marketing of alcoholic beverages
• Reach an agreement with representatives from a
  range of sectors on a code of commercial
  communication implemented at national and EU
  level.

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Public expectations regarding advertising of
alcohol
Question To what extent do you agree or disagree
with the following? Alcohol advertising targeting
young people should be banned in all EU Member
States
Source Eurobarometer, Attitudes towards alcohol,
March 2007
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Implementing theAlcohol Strategy
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Implementing the Commission Alcohol
Communication 2006
Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action
Committee on Data Collection, Indicators and
Definitions
European Alcohol and Health Forum
Working across EU policies Transport, Education,
Youth, Agriculture etc.
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(No Transcript)
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Alcohol and Health Forum

• overall objective
• provide common platform for all interested
  stakeholders at EU level willing to step up
  actions (commitments) aimed at reducing alcohol
  harm
• main areas to be addressed
• under age drinking
• information on effect of harmful drinking
• responsible drinking/promote behavioural changes
• consumer information
• commercial communication

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Commitments on marketing

• About 25 of all commitments are about better
  cooperation/actions on responsible commercial
  communication and sales
• All but two are from economic operators

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Examples of commitments in the area of
responsible marketing

• Providing training for advertising industry on
  the SR codes (Advertising Information Group,
  European Association of Communications Agencies)
• Developing internal tools for staff to ensure
  responsible marketing (Bacardi-Martini B.V.,
  Heineken)
• Developing an on-line training toolbox to teach
  the EFRD Common Standards to marketing staff,
  industry associations and SR bodies (European
  Forum for Responsible Drinking - EFRD)
• Study the role of SR practices and commercial
  influences within the new media landscape
  (European Publishers Council)
• Monitor ads in media (press, magazines,
  billboards etc.) for compliance with national
  legislation and take legal action where required
  (Association Nationale de Prevention en
  Alcoologie et Addictologie)
• Set up a European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol
  Marketing to collect, exchange and promote
  knowledge and experience about alcohol marketing
  (National Foundation for Alcohol Prevention
  STAP, IOGT-NTO and Eurocare Italia)

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European Alcohol andHealth Forum structure
European Alcohol and Health Forum
Plenary Session
Open Forum
Science Group
Task Force onyouth-specific aspects of alcohol
Task Force on Marketing Communication
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The Task Force On Marketing Communication

• Tasks
• Examine best practice for promoting
  responsibility in marketing, and preventing
  irresponsible marketing
• Build upon DG SANCOs report on the Advertising
  Round Table
• Examine trends in product development, product
  placement, sales promotions and other forms of
  marketing, and trends in alcohol advertising and
  sponsorship
• Make any appropriate recommendations to the Forum

European Alcohol and Health Forum
Plenary Session
Open Forum
Science Group
Task Force onyouth-specific aspects of alcohol
Task Force on Marketing Communication
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Main results of the TF Marketing

• Meetings on 11 December 2007, 4/5 March
  (workshop), 16 July 2008, 12 November
• Summary reports and presentations on website of
  DG SANCO

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Main results of the TF Marketing

• How to avoid exposure of youth to alcohol
  advertising 70-30 in most voluntary marketing
  codes should be 80-20?
• Involving youth what is attractive to young
  persons?
• Controversy between members of TF and Forum on
  the impact of marketing communication on the
  volume and patterns of consumption, especially by
  young persons gt Task Request to Science Group
• Mapping exercise of SR value chain, new media,
  mechanisms of monitoring and enforcement
• Next meeting of TF dedicated to Social Marketing

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Grants for relevant projects the Commissions
Health Programme

• ELSA (2005-2007)
• FASE (2008-2010)
• AMMIE (2009-2011) final Commission decision
  pending
• These projects are all about monitoring trends in
  marketing and compliance with voluntary marketing
  codes. Coordinator of these projects is STAP
  National Foundation for Alcohol Prevention
• These projects are consistent with the
  Commissions efforts regarding alcohol marketing

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Concluding remarks
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Concluding remarks

• Development of further harmonised EU-legislation
  regarding alcohol advertising is not to be
  expected (in the short term)
• As a consequence of the EU Alcohol Strategy the
  Commission makes an effort to make
  self-regulation more effective and more credible
• This is work in progress, and results can not be
  expected in the short term

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Concluding remarks

• In the end it will be a political decision to
  assess whether the results meet criteria and
  expectations
• Member States are free to introduce legal
  restrictions on alcohol advertising. The
  Commission will not step in Member States ways,
  as long as such legislation complies with the
  EC-Treaty (e.g. (proportionality and
  non-discrimination)