Everything in moderation…

Jamie Fortescue says the alcohol and health forum is a welcome chance to find a new way of changing EU drinking habits.

Fortescue, the director-general of CEPS, the European Spirits Association, said that too often national approaches to alcohol abuse had failed to make an important distinction: "The problem is not the product, the problem is misuse of the product."

"The spirits industry has existed for centuries because people like our products," he added. "Ninety percent of those people enjoy the product responsibly."

Fortescue hopes that the forum will make it easier to develop a more targeted approach for the other 10%.

"[Alcohol abuse] absolutely is a problem and the Commission communication clarifies what the problem is."

Drunk-driving, binge-drinking and under-age drinking are all worries that CEPS shares with the Commission, according to Fortescue. His group last year produced its first progress report on responsible alcohol consumption, which sets out spirits industry commitments across the member states.

The report was published with support from the European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD), an industry group, independently monitored by consultancy KPMG. Fortescue hopes that, through the forum, other companies and interest groups can learn from the responsible consumption report, and offer suggestions for how to proceed.

He welcomed initiatives like the UK ‘Drink Aware’ website as a way to educate people about what responsible drinking means. He said sharing the forum with different interest groups, from retail companies to temperance campaigners, would not prevent them from finding common ground: "They can comment on us and try to improve what we do, as long as we can do the same to them."

Fortescue said that a new approach was needed because traditional efforts have not made the problems go away. "When you look at efforts to reduce availability through high prices, limited sales, and advertising restrictions," he said, "there is general recognition this hasn’t been working."

"Consider the countries which have adopted this style of approach - the UK, the Nordic countries, Ireland," he said. "These do seem to be the countries where the problem remains acute

He dismissed proposals for labels warning against drunk-driving or binge-drinking as "a sticking plaster to solve an amputation".

Instead of demonising alcohol, he said, the aim should be to "change attitudes". "It will be a slow process, let’s not pretend that is not the case. Some people still think it’s cool to get drunk," he said.

A concerted effort from all parties would be required - governments, alcohol servers and retailers, the police, the media - and the alcohol industry. In Fortescue’s eyes, the forum should help that collective effort.

It should also mean recognising the benefits of alcohol: the traditions and taste of different drinks, and even health benefits of moderate consumption. "There are lots of figures on the cost of alcohol to society," said the CEPS director-general. "We’ve never been able to measure the benefits."

"People like alcohol, it helps them enjoy a higher quality of life, said Fortescue. "You can’t measure that stuff."

Jamie Fortescue says the alcohol and health forum is a welcome chance to find a new way of changing EU drinking habits.