Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - WHO Western Pacific Region

8. Regulating alcohol marketing
Table 8.1 : Legislative examples
Loi Evin, France (1991)
A clear definition of alcoholic drinks is given: all drinks over 1.2% alcohol by volume are considered
as alcoholic beverages.
Places and media of authorized advertising are defined:
- no advertising should be targeted at young people;
- no advertising is allowed on TV and in cinemas; and
- no sponsorship of cultural or sport events is permitted.
Advertising is permitted only:
- in the press for adults;
- on billboards*;
- on radio channels (under precise conditions); and
- for special events or places, such as wine fairs and wine museums.
When advertising is permitted, its content is controlled.
Messages and images should refer only to the qualities of the products, such as degree, origin,
composition, means of production, patterns of consumption.
A health message must be included on each advertisement: “Alcohol abuse is dangerous to
health.” (France 2001)
* The text limited billboard advertising to places of production and sale. Later, a law change
permitted billboard advertising anywhere that alcohol was served or sold.
Options on the content of alcohol advertisements
In a number of countries, including Australia and New Zealand, the content of alcohol
advertisements is not regulated by government, but comes under systems of industry selfregulation
and voluntary codes that set standards for advertising alcohol (alongside codes
for other products, advertising to children, etc.). These alcohol advertising codes include
restrictions that originated as government policy, such as no television advertisements before
20:30 or 22:00. Many code rules, such as not linking alcohol to sex or social success, health
or violence, and not using actors under 25 years, reflect past complaints by the public or public
health organizations. Industry self-regulation of alcohol advertising now typically includes
pre-vetting and a committee to review complaints that may include non-industry members.
Some codes now include cable, satellite or Internet in their definition of broadcast advertising,
but very few address other forms of marketing.
In the European Union, a 1989 Directive on Television without Frontiers included a set of
minimum rules on the content of alcohol advertising (Article 15), as a basis for national
standards. Some member countries have included this in legislation regulating marketing,
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