The Dutch health minister, Els Borst, has, after fierce negotiations, agreed a stricter alcohol advertising code with the powerful Netherlands drinks industry. It is aimed at protecting young people, because of evidence of increasing alcohol consumption among teenagers.
The code, covering all media and public events, bans alcohol advertising or sponsorship where more than a quarter of the viewers, readers, listeners, or visitors are aged under 18.
Alcohol advertisements on the music channels MTV and TMF and on a pop radio station will be scrapped. No advertisements will be allowed to feature people aged under 25, and advertisers will have to ensure that no billboards will be visible from schools. In addition, alcoholic cocktail drinks must be clearly labelled and not portrayed as fizzy soft drinks.
Restrictions have also been agreed on so called “happy hours,” which must now include non-alcoholic drinks, must not offer alcoholic drinks at less than half price, and must not take place immediately before closing time.
The industry itself will monitor the agreement, and the maximum fine for contravening the code has been doubled to fl100000 (£27300; $43600). The voluntary code, rare within Europe, belongs to a 30 year tradition of self regulation by the Dutch drinks sector, which includes such names as Heineken and Bols.
The chairman of the industry's negotiating group, Jack Verhoek, said that both sides had given ground to achieve a good compromise that emphasised protecting youth.
In January, after six months of talks, Ms Borst had threatened to scrap the deal, telling parliament that her trust in the industry was waning and the industry's latest offer was “incomplete, inadequate . . . and insufficient.”
Last month the Netherlands Institute of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention published a “black book on alcohol advertising,” claiming that annual budgets for alcohol advertising in the mass media have risen 270% since 1990, to more than fl200m. By comparison, the institute has a fl3m budget for alcohol control campaigns.
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BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION
The Netherlands is tightening its advertising of alcohol, even though its consumption is below the EU average