EU forum to fight young people's booze abuse[de] 

Some 40 business and non-governmental organisations signed on 7 June 2007 a Charter establishing the European Alcohol and Health Forum (AHF) aiming to take action to protect European citizens from the harmful use of alcohol. 

The common commitment of stakeholders is to put special emphasis on actions to protect children and young people, to promote responsibility and to prevent irresponsible commercial communication and sales.

"It is my firm belief that in order to make any real change in the fight against alcohol-related harm, the efforts must be high not only on the public health agenda, but also on the agenda of all stakeholders, including schools, employers, NGOs, alcoholic drinks producers, distributors, the advertising and media industries, local/national authorities, member states and the EU," said Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou. 

Driven by the five key areas outlined in the EU Strategy in October 2006, the AHF "will be a very important cornerstone for the implementation of this strategy as it will focus on concrete action at European, national and local level", added Kyprianou.

The Charter foresees establishment of a Science Group, which will, at the request of the platform members, provide scientific advice and guidance on matters under discussion in the forum. 

In addition, the AHF will establish two Task Forces: one on marketing communication to pursue the work of the 2006 Advertising Round Table, and one on youth-specific aspects of alcohol to examine trends in the drinking habits of young people.

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou expects much from all stakeholders. He expects the alcohol industry to "develop, distribute and market products in a responsible manner". 

"While I know that much has been done already, there is much scope for further actions regarding advertising, server training, product presentation, and so on," he said. 

He called on the other economic operators to take on their share of the work. "We all know that media, advertisers, retailers, owners of pubs and bars play an extremely important role in changing attitudes and behaviour, especially among young people," he said. 

Commissioner Kyprianou would also welcome active participation from "NGO's outside the public health field; representing social, youth, families and consumer interests".

The European Spirits Organisation (CEPS) underlines that EU spirit producers' own set of future self-responsibility commitments are outlined in the CEPS Charter on responsible alcohol consumption, adopted in 2005, with a deadline of 2010 set for their implementation. "The CEPS Charter pledges to promote responsible alcohol consumption advocating the 'targeted approach' to tackling alcohol misuse and sets an important precedent among the alcohol industry at EU level, including a commitment to report back annually on progress made, independently verified," states a CEPS press release. 

"Now with the support of the European Commission and working with other stakeholders, egta intends to multiply its efforts to make sure that self-regulation is really made effective across Europe and that it properly addresses the issue of excessive alcohol consumption," said egta Secretary-General Michel Grégoire. Egta is the trade association of television and radio advertising sales that commercialise the advertising space of both private and public TV/radio channels all over Europe. 

The European Alcohol Policy Alliance (EUROCARE) is particularly pleased to "welcome the presence of a Science Group, to ensure that industry commitments are evidence based and relevant". 

"Most importantly, we are pleased to see a clear separation between the Forum as a platform for action, and the Committee on National Policy and Action as one for policy discussion among member states: we believe public health policies on alcohol should be formulated without the interference of commercial interests," said Andrew McNeill, of Eurocare.