European public health NGOs have set up a new centre that monitors the marketing activities of the alcohol industry
European public health NGOs have set up a new centre that monitors the marketing activities of the alcohol industry
Alcohol marketing increases the use of alcohol among young people. European NGOs have joined forces to combat alcohol related harm by launching a new Monitoring Alcohol Marketing Centre to provide other NGOs and politicians information on the harmful effects of alcohol marketing and the activities of the alcohol and advertising industry.
Convincing evidence of harmful effects alcohol marketing
Alcohol is an important health determinant in the European Union and costs the community €125 billion each year. There is an increasing body of evidence which shows that alcohol marketing significantly increases the use of alcohol, especially that of young people. Scientific studies show that young people who are highly exposed to alcohol advertisement start drinking alcohol at an earlier age, drink larger quantities during one occasion and drink more often compared to young people that are less exposed to alcohol advertisement.
Industry faces increased pressure
The alcohol and advertising industry emphasize that in their opinion alcohol marketing only affects brand loyalty and does not increase the general sales of alcoholic beverages. There is much at stake. The alcohol industry is a marketing industry. In 2004, traditional global advertising expenditures of the top nine alcohol beverage companies totalled more than € 2.5 billion. The real marketing expenditure of these companies is probably 3 times as large, due to the expenditure of non-traditional advertising. These industries face increased pressure to commit to proposals aimed at combating alcohol-related harm across Europe. These proposals aims to regulate alcohol marketing practices to avoid regulations fixed by law.
Increased attention of governments for alcohol marketing policy
Politicians have become more aware of the importance of addressing the influence of alcohol marketing on young people. Besides the increase of the minimum price of alcoholic drinks and limiting its availability, regulating alcohol marketing could be an effective policy measure to reduce alcohol related harm. As we have seen earlier in the field of tobacco, politicians can make a successful effort to limit the advertising of potential harmful products in order to protect the public health of European citizens.
NGOs join forces to tackle impact of alcohol marketing
A group of Public Health NGOs throughout Europe have taken the initiative to set up the European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing (EUCAM). EUCAM is an official commitment of these NGOs in the European Alcohol and Health Forum and will be presented on the 17th of April 2008. This information centre is unique since it is the only European based centre specialized in monitoring alcohol marketing.
EUCAM monitors marketing activities of the industry
The new centre supports alcohol marketing impact research and monitoring of alcohol advertisements. Additionally, it provides information on regulations and records trends in marketing activities of the industry. This month, EUCAM has published trend reports which show that the alcohol industry targets women as a new market. We also see that alcoholic beverages are more and more advertised as responsible products for health and environment. For example, added vitamins and recycled bottles are emphasized in advertisements.
See for more information www.eucam.info or contact :
Mr. W.E. van Dalen, MSc.,
managing director of STAP
T 030-6565041
T 0653295544
E eucam@
I www.eucam.info
