The first meeting of the Marketing Communications Task Force took place on 11th December 2007.

Amended Mandate, Work Plan and Minutes of the Meeting available here:
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/Forum/alcohol_forum_en.htm

The next meeting of the Task Force will take place in Brussels on 4th and 5th March. It will be composed of a one day workshop, showcasing NGO and Industry projects, followed by a half day meeting.

Next Meetings
Next Plenary Meeting: 16 April 2008
Open Forum Meeting: 17 April 2008

The first meeting of the Youth Task Force took place on 22nd November 2007.

Amended Mandate, Work Plan, Composition and Minutes of the Meeting available here:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/Forum/alcohol_forum_en.htm

The next meeting of the Task Force will take place in Luxembourg on 19th- 20th February 2008. It will be composed of a one-day workshop, showcasing NGO and Industry projects, followed by a half day meeting.

A summary of that first meeting that took place last November in Luxembourg is now available on the Commission’s website at: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/documents/ev_20071105_en.pd

By Ritva Varamäki, Vice-Secretary of Eurocare and Development Manager for Finnish Center for Health Promotion

After Le Parisien published an editorial article entitled, “The Triumph of Champagne,” which reviewed various brands of champagne, the National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction took the paper to court. The court ruled that despite being an editorial, the article should have “conformed to advertising regulations and included a health warning on excessive drinking.” This ruling reinforces the already established regulatory guidelines.

For the full article http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=55477

With the passing of new legislation, Hungarian drivers who have consumed any amount of alcohol at all will immediately have their licenses revoked. Authorities are hoping that the new, zero-tolerance legislation will significantly reduce the number of traffic accidents and alcohol-related auto injuries.

For full article http://www.b92.net/eng/news/region-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=01&dd=20&nav_id=47093

The Consumer Ombudsman has introduced a complete ban on pub crawls, body tequilas and booze games in travel marketing directed at young people. As a result, travel agencies are no longer allowed to use alcohol as “bait” when advertising holidays.

By Walter Farke (DHS)

Wiesbaden (Germany) – The Federal Office of Statistics reported about 19,522 alcohol intoxicated children, young people and young adults between 10 and 20 years who were treated in hospital in 2006. This is an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous year. This rate is a very high level and is twice as high as in 2000 (+105%).

Groups representing the country’s youth have condemned moves to restrict the sale of alcohol to people over 21, saying that doing so ignores the broader problems caused by alcohol. Mary Cunningham, director of The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), claims that the proposal to increase the legal age limit for purchasing alcohol from 18 to 21 inherently attributes binge drinking and public order offences to young people and ignore the bigger picture. She said statistic demonstrate a “population wide problem with alcohol misuse.”

Minister Arlene Foster has proposed lowering the alcohol limit for motorcylists in Northern Ireland.