QUESTION TIME
“Without advertising, the market inevitably succumbs to stagnation as innovation is stifled and consumers are no longermade aware of new products entering the market. Healthy competition is eroded and innovation for the industry, including the development of many lower- strength alcohol products, is adversely impacted.”
In contrast, here in the UK a
highly regulated environment exists but is upheld through effective self-regulation and a strong partnership approach in which industry, government, regulators and retailers all work together. The alcohol industry consistently demonstrates its desire to adhere to all marketing codes set by the ASA, be it on broadcast, print or online. Themost recent NHS statistics
released inMay and July this year have clearly demonstrated that overall alcohol consumption in England, and also alcohol consumption among young people, is consistently declining at a steady pace. These figures support our belief that a partnership approach that focuses on targeted interventions for theminority that choose to misuse alcohol, as well as education programmes tomake sure young people understand the dangers of alcoholmisuse, are a farmore effectivemeans of tackling alcoholmisuse and encouraging the responsible consumption of alcohol. While there is no evidence to
suggest that an advertising ban, such as the Loi Évin model,
18 | FMCG News |
FMCGNews.co.uk
would have any impact on alcohol consumption or alcohol misuse, we do believe that it would have a detrimental impact on the industry and the broader FMCG sector’s operating freedoms, which in turn would negatively affect the consumer and the wider economy. Without advertising, the
market inevitably succumbs to stagnation as innovation is stifled and consumers are no longer made aware of new products entering the market. Healthy competition is eroded and innovation for the industry, including the development of many lower-strength alcohol products, is adversely impacted. At Diageo we also use our
sponsorship platforms to deliver responsible drinking messages, an effective opportunity that would be lost if a ban on sponsorship by alcohol companies was to be introduced. A model such as the Loi Évin
is an ineffective, simplistic, broad-brush approach to what is a very complex issue.We will continue to partner with relevant organisations to target those who choose to misuse alcohol, and we are committed to
The total value of the UK alcoholic drinksmarket
exceeds £30 billion
maintain and develop the numerous programmes we support to remind everyone to enjoy alcohol responsibly.
JEREMY BEADLES, UK CORPORATE RELATIONS DIRECTOR, HEINEKEN
A great deal has been discussed, written and tried when it comes to trying to tackle the anti-social impacts of binge drinking and reduce levels of long term alcohol harm. At Heineken we believe that moderate alcohol consumption can play a part in a healthy lifestyle, but we have also long recognised that alcohol misuse needs to be tackled. Alcohol misuse is a complex set of issues that we believe should be tackled in a number of ways. These include the targeting of different groups of problem drinkers, challenging society’s attitudes to drunkenness, enforcing existing laws and by educating and encouraging people to take individual responsibility. The percentage of those binge
drinking may have been coming down for a while and overall
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