Our alcohol abuse problem will not be resolved by further restrictions on the drinks industry, asserts spokesman Michael Patten
The amount of attention and debate generated by the issue of alcohol misuse in Ireland has increased substantially in recent years to the point where it is now a significant item on the political and public health agenda.
All parties to this debate - including the drinks industry itself - accept that there is a problem with alcohol misuse in Ireland. However, there is a strong divergence of opinion between what might be loosely described as the "anti-alcohol" lobby and the drinks industry as to what role the drinks industry should play in respect of this issue.
The anti-alcohol lobby believes that the drinks industry cannot be part of the solution to this problem. In their eyes the industry's overriding interest is to increase sales of alcohol so companies in the sector can never be sincere in supporting any initiative which might restrict or reduce alcohol sales.
We in the industry, however, believe that we have an overriding interest in ensuring that the problem of alcohol misuse is dealt with. Short-term commercial success is secondary to our businesses and our shareholders than the long-term sustainability of our markets. And long-term sustainability means a market which tackles alcohol misuse and promotes responsible consumption of our products.
The question of what role the industry should play is particularly relevant in respect of alcohol advertising. Opponents of the alcohol industry believe that only a ban on advertising or, at least, the introduction of a ban on advertising on TV before 9pm can be successful. But there is no evidence to support such claims. This issue has been explored at length across the world. In 2003 the British government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy report failed to find a convincing argument for a ban on advertising.
And the evidence of our own markets supports this conclusion. The most active advertisers of alcohol on TV are the beer brands. The least active are the wine brands. Yet it is the sale of beer products which has declined most significantly in Ireland over the past 10 years and the sale of wine which has grown most dramatically - despite its relatively low spend on advertising. The advertising we see is designed to support alcohol brands in a declining market - not to recruit new consumers.
A ban or a watershed is completely out of tune with the realities of advertising in today's world. The reality is that young children spend more time on the internet than they do watching TV. And the days of under 18-year-olds going to bed at 9pm simply don't exist anymore so a "watershed" is meaningless.
And TV is now international: how will a ban be implemented in respect of British, European or US-based channels? So if the drinks industry is against a ban on advertising, what are we in favour of? The answer is partnership.
The drinks industry believes the current approach whereby the industry works in partnership with the Government to operate codes of practice and regulations which control alcohol advertising rather than bans it is much more effective than having the Government and the industry at odds with each other and trying to outwit each other.
The anti-alcohol lobby says the current situation has delivered nothing. The reality is very different. As we stand, the following codes and regulations control the way alcohol can be advertised in Ireland; the requirement that all alcohol advertisements be "cleared" as suitable for use by Central Copy Clearance Ireland before they can be carried by any media owner; codes of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) imposing statutory obligations on broadcasters in respect of alcohol advertising; codes of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland governing the content of alcohol ads; codes set down by MEAS (Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society) and by the European Forum on Responsible Drinking and the codes agreed two years ago by the Department of Health and Children to address the placement and volume of alcohol ads.
The existence of this suite of codes has fundamentally altered the style, content and placement of alcohol advertising. Indeed many of the iconic ads of earlier years would simply fail to get past the current set of codes.
And the partnership approach has delivered other benefits; the industry has created a marketing fund with a value of approximately €20 million to promote responsible drinking and the industry is deeply engaged on a range of measures - including agreeing the use of labelling on bottles to warn of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and advice on the alcoholic content of the drink being consumed. These are real advances. They testify to the benefits of co-operating rather than confrontation.
Pursuing a strategy of partnership has already delivered results - and can deliver more. But pursuing a ban on advertising will achieve nothing.
• Michael Patten is chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland