THE LOI EVIN A FRENCH EXCEPTION 1 What

THE LOI EVIN : A FRENCH EXCEPTION 1

What is « loi Evin » • An alcohol and tobacco policy law voted in France in 1991 2

What is « loi Evin » • One of the most severe law on advertising in Europe • In a country where « passion » for alcohol is hot • In a country where alcohol control is often low • How can we explain this real French paradox ? 3

Why this law ? • Former French law (in the seventies) was discriminating : it gave advantage to French products • France was condemned in 1979 by the European Court of Justice • But French governments took time to change the law 4

A Decade of French advertising From 1980 to 1990 alcohol producers used this legal gap The ad became more and more provocative 5

Sexe, alcohol and French life • Alcohol and sexe • Alcohol and sport 6

Help! What does the police ? • Ignoring their own codes of good practices the ad men and producers went high in provocation and played with fire. • The only way to stop these ads was to legislate • ANPA and health experts lobbied until • Loi Evin was voted by the French parliament 7

Articles of Loi Evin on alcohol • • Definition of alcoholic drinks Nature of advertising authorized Content of advertising Others topics : i e alcohol selling automate are forbidden 8

1. Definition of drinks • The law gives a clear definition of alcoholics drinks : • All drinks over 1, 2 % alcohol 9

2. Places and media of authorized advertising • Advertising is forbidden - when targeted to young people - on TV and cinema • No sponsorship is authorised 10

3. Within these media • Messages and images should refer only to the qualities of the products : it allows to give information on the products as the producers ask • A health message must be included : « L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé » Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health 11

Consequences of the law 1991 -2004 • Illegal advertising have been condemned • Since 1991 : - 20 advertisements were brought to the Court by ANPA - And 18 were condemned 12

Consequences of the law 1991 -2004 • Penalties are high • So alcohol producers, media and admen became more careful • And advertising has lost most of its seductive character 13

Changes in advertising • Before the law • After the law 14

These ads were judged illegal in France in 2004 ! 15

Consequences on Media and Sports • Cancellation of international football matches • American brewer Anheuser Bush could not sponsor the 1998 Football World Cup • And France won the Cup for the first time 16

What are the limits of the law ? • Many marketing tools are not controlled • Mailing • Internet • Social events • Control of advertising is only a part of an overall strategy of prevention 17

A law difficult to assess • Difficult to assess the role of one factor (here advertising) on consumption and harm • The effect of advertising on consumption is weak 18

A law difficult to assess • Assessment is more difficult in the French situation where we benefit of a dramatic diminution of the average consumption - since 1960 - 1 % per year - from 30 to 13 litres alcohol per capita per year 19

A law difficult to assess • Quantitative effects may be impossible to assess… • … but symbolic effects are visible 20

The symbolic effect of the law • Advertising reinforces preconceived ideas about alcohol • In most European countries advertising associates alcohol consumption with personal, sexual and social success… even if it forbidden by codes of practice • A law is the only way to change this seductive language 21

European ads 22

Where have the French images gone ? • Authorized ad in • Illegal ad in France 23

The need for a European legislative framework • Development of multinationals • Products and images cross frontiers • Internationalization of life styles and drinking cultures 24

A law that cannot be ignored • The law has been attacked in and outside France • Very recently… while the law has been attacked by the French wine producers… it has been defended by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice 25

The Advocate General proposes that the Court should rule that • French measures on advertising limit the consumption • French rules are not disproportionate • The French law allows the freedom to provides services enshrined in the Treaty 26

We hope that the law is here to stay because this text • is easy to apply • is difficult to distort • has modified the seductive language of advertising • is compatible with European legislation • This is no real surprise as the law was a response to the 1979 European Court decision 27

We hope that the spirit of the law could be applied in Europe • Minimal measures compatible with subsidiarity • In order to protect the younger generations 28

We propose for instance inside the European Union to • Forbid all forms of marketing using sport events • Forbid advertising on television 29