CH- Alcohol advertising on television debate

In Switzerland an interesting debate around the impact of the EU legislation on alcohol advertising on TV has taken place in recent weeks. This relates to the Media agreement between Switzerland and the EU where Switzerland is associated as a full partner in all the activities in the MEDIA programme (Swiss professionals in the cinema and audiovisual sectors are able to benefit from the same incentives as their colleagues in the EU countries). This agreement requires Switzerland to amend its broadcasting legislation in order to comply with the ‘Audiovisual Media Services Directive' with regard to the law applicable to advertising. Consequently, advertising on TV by foreign channels (directed at Switzerland) will not be regulated by Swiss law but by anational law of the State from which the channel is being broadcasted. This required the Swiss Parliament to make changes in the current national legislation by November this year. In practice it entails that Switzerland's ban on advertising of alcohol will cease to be binding to foreign television channels whose programmes are directed at Switzerland. In March the Lower Chamber of the Swiss Parliament (Staenderat) forbade alcohol advertisements in domestic and foreign television programs, which address themselves to the Swiss public. However, the Commission of the National Chamber has allowed for alcohol ads; this problem will be further discussed during this ongoing session. Hermann Meyer has been monitoring this debate closely and has issued an open letter to the Members of the Parliament. This letter calls on the parliamentarians to oppose alcohol ads on the TV screens since they directly affect the consumption and the future consumer behavior of children and young people.
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For the Open Letter to Members of the Parliament (National Chamber) please click here