October 27, 2006
A glass half full or half empty?
This week’s paper on how Europe can reduce the harm caused by binge drinking was one of the most fiercely resisted of the year in Brussels.
Drinks companies lobbied furiously after research commissioned by the European Commission proposed measures such as a ban on advertising and tobacco-style warning labels. They muttered that a Swede was drafting the paper looking to push his own country’s restrictive approach to alcohol sales. No such proposals appeared. So is the glass half full or half empty for drinks’ companies?
There was a chorus of approval from the industry when the much watered-down document was released. Markos Kyprianou, the health commissioner, had trodden a delicate path, urging governments to share best practice and working in partnership with industry. Health policies remain a national concern, though ministers had asked the Commission for a Europe-wide plan.
Even the German brewers, who had been accused of "tilting at windmills" by Mr Kyprianou for the vociferous attacks on his supposed plans, said they would join a new government/industry forum to look at ways to tackle the problem.
Health campaigners were not crying into their cups, however.
"We are disappointed. It has the pawprints of industry all over it," said Andrew McNeill of Eurocare, the alcohol health campaign group. "Having said that, at least there is a strategy at European level. If it doesn’t work then there will obviously be a review and a need for further action. We know it won’t work because we know what does work."
The European Forum for Responsible Drinking, set up by seven spirits companies, feared a Trojan horse as well.
While applauding the Commission for "rejecting attempts to hijack the strategy" the EFRD chairman Alan Butler warned that the fight was not over. "Concerns remain that warning labels and de facto restrictions on commercial communications could surface during the implementation phase," he said.
Expect the clash of glasses to be heard again before too long.
Andrew Bounds
