Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19326
Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.
Publication type: Journal Article
Braillon Alain, Dubois G
Alcohol Control Policy: Evidence-Based Medicine Versus Evidence-Based Marketing
Addiction 2011 Feb 14; 106:852–853
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03319.x/pdf
Keywords:
Alcohol, internet, lobby.
Full text:
Comprehensive and stringent alcohol control policies
(e.g. on both availability and marketing) are associated
with lower alcohol consumption by adolescents [1].
Accordingly, Müller et al. showed that the German experience
of alcopops taxes, a limited action, induced a
switch for beverages associated with riskier drinking
patterns [2].
French policy has chosen another way. In June 2009,
the government issued a new law, ‘Hospital, patients,
health and territories’, a major reform to ‘improve’ the
health-care system,which allowed advertising for alcohol
on the internet, the most used medium by young people.
This (i) disregarded both medical associations’ claims and
results of public polls indicating that eight out of 10
French citizens oppose such a measure and (ii) almost
nullified ‘Evin’s law’ issued in 1991 to ban or limit alcohol
advertising in other media and during sports events [3,4].
The Department of Health took specific measures
because the Code of Public Health has a chapter (III)
requiring the ‘protection of the under-aged’ in the section
entitled ‘Fighting alcoholism’. It issued mandatory
posters (31 January 2010) to be posted in places where
alcohol is sold [5]. Under the headline of ‘To protect the
youngest and against public drunkenness’, they have
three points, such as: (i) it is forbidden to sell alcohol to
those under 18s; (ii) ‘happy hours’ are forbidden unless
there are non-alcoholic beverages; and (iii) drunkenness
is forbidden in public places [5].
The first point of the poster might look fine. In Florida
and many other states, trade organizations and retailers
have opposed measures that limit youth access, including
punishment of vendors making under-age sales [6].
Would they have opposed such measures if these measures
were not decreasing their sales? Sadly, the efficiency
of the first point is very highly questionable in France,
because laxity and impunity prevail on enforcement. For
example, selling tobacco was forbidden for the under-16s
(the ‘Hospital, patients, health and territories’ law also
shifted this ban to 18 years). However, the European
Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) study showed that
65% of the 13-year-old daily smokers (10% of this age)
buy their cigarettes from a tobacconist [Bulletin épidémiologie
hebdomadaire (BEH thématique), issue 21–22, 27
May 2008, p. 189]. In France, there are no mechanisms to
ensure that these laws are enforced and no administration
uses sting operations even if serious breaches are patent.
On 18 October, the Ministry of Health announced a
2% increase in tobacco sales during the past 5 years ‘due
to women and the crisis’, without noting that the French
government had consistently refused to increase tobacco
taxes since 2004. French health policy is flying in the face
of best evidence for reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption,
already sliding down what appears to be a slippery
slope in terms of smoking, suggesting a willingness
to sacrifice its citizens’ health.
Declarations of interest
Professor Dubois chairs ‘Alliance Prévention Alcool’, a
charity established in June 2010 to federate the organizations
that oppose dangerous and inconsistent policies.
He is currently being sued for libel by the Confédération
des Buralistes (the French tobacconists’ union) since September
2009. Dr Braillon, a senior tenured consultant in
Professor Dubois’ unit at Amiens since 2005, was sacked
in December 2009 with the approval of the National
Management Centre (Department of Health) against the
advice of the National Statutory Committee (Whistleblowing
and the abuse of libel law: view from France;
HealthWatch, issue 79, October 2010; available at: http://
href.fr/healthwatch_oct10.pdf).
