PRESS RELEASE:
20.07.2006
TROUBLE BREWING FOR EUROPE S CONSUMERS
The Brewers of Europe Press Release
TROUBLE BREWING FOR EUROPE S CONSUMERS
Brussels, 17 July 2006 – A gulf is emerging between the European Commission’s DG SANCO and Europe’s consumers of beer, wine, cider and spirits, warns The Brewers of Europe. Europe’s brewers fear that DG SANCO’s proposals, due to be published in September, will confuse alcohol consumption in general with the misuse of alcoholic drinks. A ‘one size fits all’ policy, which is not evidence-based, would not work and would risk alienating public opinion by treating responsible consumers like alcoholics.
A new report commissioned by The Brewers of Europe, and published by THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC on 14 July 2006, underlines the need for evidence-based policies to tackle alcohol-related problems in society. The report, which also examines patterns of alcohol consumption across Europe, is entitled ‘An independent review of issues related to alcohol consumption in Europe’ and has been reviewed by an independent scientific panel.
The independent scientific panel concluded that, “any EU policies on alcohol-related harm should be formulated and implemented taking into account regional, national and local differences in the consumption and misuse of alcohol.”
The Secretary-General of The Brewers of Europe, Mr. Rodolphe de Looz-Corswarem, commented, “Europe’s brewers recognise that problems related to the misuse of alcohol – both in terms of health issues and anti-social behaviour – exist in some parts of Europe. However, the conclusions of the independent panel demonstrate that there is no scientific justification for pan-European regulation to reduce alcohol consumption.
“As the report argues, some confuse alcohol consumption in general with the misuse of alcoholic drinks. However, the level of alcohol consumption per se is not an indicator of alcohol-related problems, since these are culturally determined rather than quantity determined. Many countries with a high level of consumption across the whole population are those with the most responsible drinking patterns.
“Given that the extent and nature of any problems varies greatly from country to country, any pan-European anti-alcohol regulation will not work. For example, trying to pluck policies from Sweden and impose them on Italy would be a recipe for failure.
“Policies that are not evidence-based, and that do not consider cultural and regional differences, will fail to deal with the social problems, while at the same time generate a rising level of political objections. The Brewers of Europe has been in dialogue with DG SANCO about the issues concerning the misuse of alcohol and is seeking targeted solutions that will truly and effectively address concerns of the society related to the misuse of alcohol.
“THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC’s press release makes the comment that ‘Some panel members felt that this was because too much attention was being paid to the beneficial health effects’.
The Brewers of Europe believe that the beneficial health effects of moderate consumption remain significant, as explained in the background material developed by THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC. However, we do acknowledge the view of the panel that insufficient attention has been paid to the social benefits and that these, while more difficult to quantify, could well outweigh the direct health benefits.
“The vast majority of European consumers of beer and other alcoholic drinks are responsible adults who act in moderation. Where there are social or health problems associated with alcohol misuse, national or regional governments should continue to formulate public health policies appropriate to their cultures, without interference from Brussels.”
-Ends-
For further information, please contact: Rodolphe de Looz-Corswarem (info@brewersofeurope.org); +32 2 551 18 10
Notes to editors
• The Brewers of Europe represent the national brewing associations from 23 countries. To view a list of the members of The Brewers of Europe, click here.
• To view the full text of THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC’s report, ‘An independent review of issues related to alcohol consumption in Europe’, click here.
Background note
THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC put together an independent panel of respected, scientific experts to study the review, provide comments and draw the conclusions of the report. This panel, from a variety of disciplines, agreed that pan-European alcohol consumption measures were not supported by available science and that such regulations would not address the public’s genuine concerns in such areas as youth alcohol abuse.
The European Commission (DG SANCO) is considering measures to reduce alcohol consumption in Europe, and is expected to publish its proposals in September. It commissioned and recently published a report (the ‘Anderson Report’) from a group well known for its links to supporters of total abstinence.
The new European Union presidency, Finland, has made clear that this issue will be one of the priorities under its presidency.
Further reference
DG SANCO informal draft discussion paper on EU strategy for alcohol (March 2005) (PDF)
The Brewers of Europe comments on the DG SANCO informal draft (PDF)
A press release issued on 14 July 2006 by THE WEINBERG GROUP LLC can be downloaded here . It includes a list of the panel of experts who peer reviewed the study.
Summary of THE WEINBERG GROUP report
(Extract from section 1.3 of THE WEINBERG GROUP report ‘An independent review of issues related to alcohol consumption in Europe’).
Main Conclusions
• The panel concluded that the report was very good. All agreed that it was fair, balanced, up-to-date and representative of the literature on the issues reviewed, subject to comments that more material since 2003 could have been included and some additional references to important older papers could have been included as well.
• European Union (EU) wide policies with respect to responsible use of alcohol are neither called for nor expected to work. There was an added concern that the introduction of EU policies that are not evidence-based will incur a major risk in reducing appropriate use with its associated societal benefits.
• Any EU policies on alcohol-related harm should be formulated and implemented taking into account regional, national and local differences in the use and misuse of alcohol.
• While it is well recognized that there are problems associated with alcohol abuse, such as foetal alcohol syndrome and liver cirrhosis, the data show that there are no health hazards associated with the appropriate use of alcohol. When taking the social cohesion aspects into account, there are significant overall benefits associated with its moderate consumption.
• The panel expressed concern with a tendency to attribute the effects of alcohol abuse to all drinking patterns and the likelihood of this leading to the development of inappropriate EU alcohol policy.
Subsidiary Conclusions
• The panel expressed concern at the direction taken in much of the research and the poor quality of many of the studies, making the formulating of EU-wide policy inherently risky.
• The panellists were in consensus that there is not sufficient evidence to infer that alcohol is the major cause of societal problems such as violence or inappropriate adolescent behaviour. While more information could be collected or data from other sources analysed, doubt was expressed as to whether this additional research could fully determine if alcohol is a major cause of such behaviour.
Recommendations
• Policy initiatives must be evidence-based and demonstrate clear clinical cause and effect linkage.
• Additional, quality, well-designed research could be conducted in the areas where there exists scientific uncertainty in order to elucidate more reliable evidence.
• Alcohol policy initiatives should be developed in a wider context in order to understand the social, cultural and economic drivers that have prompted the recent push to enact alcohol control policies.
