By Martin Banks - 9th November 2009
One-size-fits-all approaches do not help anyone
Alberto da Ponte
EU health ministers have been urged not to impose "restrictive" measures in order to combat the problem of alcohol abuse.
Ministers, due to meet in Stockholm on 1 December, will review the EU health strategy which aims to support member states in reducing alcohol-related harm.
The body representing Europe's brewing industry, however, fears this could "present an opportunity" for the Swedish presidency of the EU to propose "restrictive" measures, such as higher prices.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels on Monday, the president of the Brewers of Europe, Alberto da Ponte called instead for "targeted" measures rather than "restrictions hitting all drinkers regardless of their behaviour".
He said, "We urge Europe's health ministers to resist the pressure from some member states to further tighten alcohol legislation by restricting marketing or calling for increased prices.
"We have to better target our efforts at the segments of the population who are, or are at risk of, abusing alcohol. There is no evidence that simplistic population-wide measures are effective in reducing alcohol misuse.
"Such measures would largely hit the group of responsible drinkers who account for the overwhelming majority of Europe's consumers.
"One-size-fits-all approaches do not help anyone and should therefore be discarded in the EU's strategy to prevent alcohol abuse."
Jonas Arnberg, of the Swedish Retail Institute, highlighted a survey in Sweden, commissioned by the Brewers of Europe, that, he says, shows restrictions on alcohol consumption in his country, such as high prices, have "simply not worked."
"Sweden's alcohol policy has created a lot of problems and today's situation is far from the objectives it is aiming to achieve.
"There is a state retail monopoly on alcohol sales but 43 per cent of alcohol consumed in Sweden is not even sold through official state channels. High taxes affect where people buy their alcohol but not how much they drink."
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