Eurocare Updates

UK, 5 July, 2010 Half of children (50%) think they have seen their parents drunk at some time, according to a survey just published.

28 June 2010, Brussels. In 2004, the Commission produced a report which recommended that the minimum rates of duty laid down in 1992 should be revalorised to take account of the inflation that has occurred since then (COM(2004) 223 final).

28 June 2010. Follow the link to access the Programme of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council.

Strasbourg, 25.06.2010 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called for a ban on all acoustic devices which discriminate against young people, such as the Mosquito “youth dispersal” device which emits a powerful sound signal audible to almost everybody under 20, but few over 25, in order to prevent young people from loitering.

After three successful conferences in 2004 (Warsaw), in 2006 (Helsinki) and 2008 (Barcelona), Eurocare chose Brussels to hold the 4th European Alcohol Policy Conference.

16 June 2010.At the First Reading vote on the food information to consumers proposal the European Parliament has introduced an amendment to include a temporary derogation for all alcoholic beverages which exempts them from the obligation to list ingredients and nutritional information to all alcoholic beverages.

Price levels for alcoholic beverages among the EU Member States vary considerably. In 2009, Alcohol was most expensive in Finland (at 170% of the EU average) and Ireland (167%), whereas Romania, Bulgaria and Spain had the cheapest prices (at 70% of the EU level).

Alcohol companies have become extremely savvy at targeting young audiences, companies are increasingly using the latest new media technologies (including cell phones, social networking sites, YouTube and other features of the expanding digital universe) to reach young drinkers, a new report contends.

Italy has resorted to shock tactics to warn women of the dangers of drinking while pregnant, launching a campaign based on the image of a foetus inside a cocktail glass.

Geneva, 20 May 2010. At its sixty-third World Health Assembly, the 193 Member States of the World Health Organization have adopted, in a consensus vote, the eagerly awaited Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.