Responsible Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages in Europe
- advocate
- 01/04/2005
- 844
- Responsible advertising
This Report, covering the 2005 25 EU Member States together with Bulgaria, Norway, Romania, Switzerland and Turkey, concentrates on the self-regulatory and legislative environment for commercial communications.
This report constitutes the second edition of the study produced by Canadean Ltd in 2002 on the marketing of alcoholic drinks in Europe and focuses primarily on the self-regulatory and regulatory environment in 30 countries.
- The report was produced using responses to a detailed questionnaire sent to all organisations involved in the self-regulation of marketing communications for alcoholic beverages across Europe. This information has been supplemented by additional research carried out by Canadean.
- The Brewers of Europe trust that the Commission and the Member States will consider this study useful in the context of the forthcoming Commission report on the implementation of the Council Recommendation on the Drinking of Alcohol and Young People.
KEY TAKEWAYS
- National self-regulatory rules relating to commercial communications for alcoholic drinks demonstrate a high degree of consistency.
- In contrast, diversity in cultural, commercial and legal traditions means that the mechanisms for applying self-regulatory standards are not identical in any two countries, but probably also means that they are more appropriate than any single, harmonised method would be.
- Compliance mechanisms, however, remain uneven and clearly there is work still to be done in terms of strengthening self-regulatory systems in some countries.
- Throughout the industry, there is evidence of unprecedented awareness and activity:
- internal company codes and compliance systems complement the activities of Self-Regulatory Organisations and Social Aspects Organisations at national level;
- at EU level, drinks industry associations like The Brewers of Europe are supporting efforts to promote best practice, to improve sub-optimal national systems and to encourage the setting up of effective self-regulatory systems in the minority of countries where one does not already exist.
- Substantial progress has been and continues to be made. Self-regulatory activity is not confined to long-established Member-States: the report provides clear evidence that in more recent members, too – the Czech and Slovak Republics, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta –and in accession countries like Bulgaria, the brewing industry has made great strides.
