Alcohol and health

The making and consumption of alcohol is a part of national culture and finding a common EU position on such issues if fraught with difficulties, writes Emily Smith.

Alcohol flows through-out Europe and it is ever-present on the tables of EU policymakers.

Across a number of areas - agriculture, trade, the internal market - alcohol is a point of contention.

Only last week the European Commission reached a trade deal to reduce the number of European geographical indicators, such as champagne and port, being used on Australian products.

The EU and US have launched an action at the World Trade Organization to challenge taxes levied by India on imports of their wines and spirits.

A revision of rules on the labelling of spirits is expected to be agreed later this year, after a complex dispute over definitions of vodka.

Yesterday (13 June) the Commission published a proposal for rum produced in French overseas territories to apply a low rate of tax.

Last week (5 June) the European Court of Justice ruled that a ban on private individuals importing alcohol into Sweden except through Systembolaget, a state company which has a retail monopoly on alcohol, is an unjustified restriction on the free movement of goods. The court said that the ban could not be justified on grounds of protecting the health and life of humans.

The court case is only the latest example of how the health aspects of alcohol consumption are being discussed in EU arenas.

According to the Commission, the average EU adult drinks 11 litres of pure alcohol - the equivalent of more than a thousand glasses of wine - every year. Ninety percent of Europeans are thought to drink sensibly and safely. But problems with the other 10%, ranging from drunk-driving to liver disease, have led to calls for EU action.

The EU still has limited competence in health policy, which has made it difficult for member states to agree a common approach to the problem (termed

‘alcohol-related harm’ by the Commission).

On another disease-prevention issue, tobacco, the member states are increasingly moving in step with each other. But evidence that small amounts of alcohol may have health benefits makes it difficult to base ‘responsible drinking’ campaigns too closely on experience with anti-smoking initiatives, where the product targeted (tobacco) is unambiguously bad for health.

In a bid to develop a new approach, the Commission last Thursday (7 June) launched an Alcohol and Health Forum to discuss possible approaches to preventing alcohol abuse. Forum members include industry groups, transport safety lobbyists, medical experts and alcohol control activists.

The Estonian Temperance Union will be sitting at the same table as the Brewers of Europe, which makes it likely that there will be heated exchanges.

Members will meet twice a year. They are expected to set up a science group to provide advice on topics being discussed.

European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said at the forum launch: "We simply cannot afford to see so many young European lives being wasted every year because of the inappropriate use of alcohol."

The alcohol industry, as well as the media, advertisers, retailers and pub owners, will be expected to "contribute to changing attitudes and behaviours", he said.

Drinks companies including Bacardi, Diageo, Moët-Henessy and The Scotch Whisky Association have so far signed up to the Commission’s idea.

At least for now, the forum aims to develop voluntary rules and codes of conduct to tackle alcohol-related harm, though Kyprianou has said he will not hesitate to propose legislation if members fail to agree on successful responsible drinking initiatives.

But Kyprianou will have his work cut out. The making and the consumption of alcohol is a part of national cultures. Member states are unwilling to risk losing very different - and very old - national drink-making practices to any standardised EU approach. They are equally reluctant to allow the EU to influence taxation policy, ruling out the use of taxes to change consumption patterns. The Commission might want to encourage healthier drinking habits, but it is not clear whether it has the means to do so.

The making and consumption of alcohol is a part of national culture and finding a common EU position on such issues if fraught with difficulties, writes Emily Smith.