European Alcoho... / Resources / Country Profiles / Spain
Spain
Alcoholic beverages have played an important part as a source of nutrition and in the social and dietary life of the Spaniards. It is estimated that 75 per cent of beer, 80 per cent of distilled spirits and 47 per cent of wine are consumed outside the home. The pattern of mixing drinking with food, work and social habits is still very common, but it is thought that drinking habits are moving closer to those in Central European countries.
Per capita alcohol consumption has been increasing from the 1950s and peaked in Spain in 1975, when it reached a level of 14 litres. Since then the total alcohol consumption has been on the decrease, and by 2000 it had come down to 10 litres per capita a year.
Spain belongs to the wine drinking countries. In the mid-1960s over two thirds of all alcohol consumed was still in the form of wine. However, nowadays, wine accounts for about 45 per cent. Beer is the beverage which has most clearly increased its proportion of the total alcohol consumption, from a few per cent at the beginning of the 1950s to 30 per cent in the late 1990s. Also the proportion of distilled spirits of the total alcohol consumption has increased from one fifth in the first half of the 1960s to one fourth in the late 1990s.
Spain was the world's third leading wine-producing nation in the years 1995-1998, producing around 31 to 36 million hectoliters in a year (World Drink Trends, 2002).
According to the 2003 WHO GENACIS Study, the rate of heavy and hazardous drinking among the total population was 12.9% for men and 8% for women. Heavy and hazardous drinking was defined as daily consumption of 40 g or more of pure alcohol for men and 20 g or more of pure alcohol for women.
According to the 2001 National Health Survey, the rate of excessive drinkers was found to be 1.7% (total), 3.2% (males) and 0.2% (females). Excessive drinking was defined as consumption of more than 700 ml of pure alcohol per week.
ALCOHOL POLICIES:
In principle, the Spanish Ministry of Health has the overall responsibility for the preventive alcohol policies in Spain. Every autonomous region has its own programme on substance abuse, but they are coordinated by the whole Spain Bureau of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. Even though it was mainly formed because of the problems caused by illicit drug use, it has begun to pay increasing attention to matters concerning alcohol, especially issues related to alcohol and youth.
Spain describes its alcohol control policy as covering only some aspects of the problems related to alcohol. According to Harkins (1995), the priorities in the 1990s have been as follows:
- discouraging drinking in schools, work settings and health care establishments
- increasing the role of primary health care teams in prevention
- focusing on early detection of alcohol problems
- using price policy to reduce alcohol demand
- addressing particular alcohol problems such as high weekend alcohol consumption by young people, and
- combating drunk driving
Although several regional and national agencies handling matters concerning preventive alcohol policies have been established since the 1980s, there is still a very weak formal control on alcohol related issues. The public is also not to any greater extent concerned about alcohol related issues and problems. There is, however, a growing concern about the easy availability of alcoholic beverages to young people, and there is a growing demand for restrictions for young people.
In Spain there has never existed any substantial temperance movement. On the other hand, the alcoholic beverage industry has had quite an influential position in the society, since some regions depend very much on wine production. Wine producers are in fact a powerful pressure group, which clearly has had, and still has, an impact on politicians and the decision making in Spain. (ECAS APQ, 1999). In 1993, the alcoholic beverage industry formed a new social responsibility organization called the Asociacion De Distribuidores de Grandes Marcas de Bebidas (ADIGRAM). The group sees itslf as a key link with the national and local governments. In 1995, ADIGRAM launched a major campaign, which told consumers: to Drink with Moderation is Your Responsibility (Hurst, Gregory & Gussman, 1997).
In Spain alcohol producers need a license to operate factories to produce alcoholic beverages. The license is granted by a territorial registry for within the Ministry of Economy and Treasury, and it is mandatory for all factories, regardless of the products they produce.
ALCOHOL ADVERTISING
In 1976 a code for television was adopted by the Comission for Control of Television Advertising. Advertisements of alcoholic beverages must clearly show the alcoholic strength in percentage od alcohol by the volume. The code prohibits advertising of alcoholic beverages in association with, or close to, programmes for young people. Nor may advertisements for alcoholic beverages in any way imply that drinking alcohol has heroic or romantic associations. Furthermore, advertisements must not occur in association with sports activities or be associated with sport programmes.
In 1988 and 1990, the laws regarding alcohol advertising were slightly tightened: The General Advertising Law of 1988 and the Television Advertising Resolution stated that advertising of alcoholic beverages containing over 20 per cent alcohol by volume is forbidden on broadcast media (ECAS APQ, 1999). The Basque region, Catalonia and Galicia have autonomous advertising regulations (Hurst, Gregory and Gussman, 1997). Some autonomous regions have narrowed the national limitations on alcohol advertising, mainly those referred to the prohibition of outdoors advertising, radio and TV advertising during given hours of the day, advertising in youth magazines, and the sponsorship of sports events. ). In addition, advertising of alcoholic beverages is not permitted before 9.30 p.m. (ECAS APQ, 1999).
The Spanish Brewers Association signed a self-regulation code in 1995 that includes a responsible consumption message in all commercial communications. The Spanish Advertisers' Associations' Code for the Self-Regulation of the Advertising of Alcoholic Drinks was adopted in 1996 by the Spanish Federation of Drinks Producers. The Code promotes the benefits of moderate drinking, but recognizes the potential for alcohol misuse. The code covers alcoholic beverage advertising and young people, driving, health, work, social behaviour, alcoholic strength and sport (Hurst, Gregory & Gussman, 1997).
WHO GENACIS Study (total sample size n=1377, males n=688 and females n=689, age range 20 to 64 years; regional survey).
2001 National Health Survey (total sample size n=22 012; sample population aged 16 years old and above)
