1 THE LOI EVIN : A FRENCH EXCEPTION

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

3 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 ?

4 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

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

6 Sexe, alcohol and French life Alcohol and sexeAlcohol and sport

7 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

8 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

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

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

11 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

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

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

14 Changes in advertising Before the lawAfter the law

15 These ads were judged illegal in France in 2004 !

16 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

17 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

18 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

19 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 % per year - from 30 to 13 litres alcohol per capita per year

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

21 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

22 European ads

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

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

25 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

26 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

27 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

28 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

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