Social Responsibility at ‘Top’ of Industry Agenda

October 23 2008



The NACM is an active member of the Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership to develop effective, practical and targeted measures to address the misuse of alcohol by the few. Our picture shows the launch of Alcohol Awareness Week in Scotland recently, attended by Public Health Minister, Shona Robison in the green jacket.

The cider industry’s Social Responsibility initiatives are assuming top priority status as the issues around alcohol use and mis-use are under the most intense scrutiny than for very many years.

For the first time the cider industry has someone whose prime role is developing policy, coordinating our response to the issues raised and maintaining a close liaison with the many interested parties involved in the debate.

Bob Price, formerly company secretary of the Food and Drink Federation and now NACM Policy Adviser, comes to the role with a wealth of experience right across the sector and is under no illusion that this is an issue which will continue to be in the spotlight.

‘The cider industry has an excellent record of ‘keeping it own house in order’ and has been responsible for a number of ‘firsts’ in the drinks industry - such as the mandatory Marketing Code of Practice developed more than a decade ago - but the pressure is intensifying and we must continue to be right at the forefront of this debate and ensure that action is taken on the firm footing of evidence,’ he said.

Its latest contributions come in the responses to the Scottish Government’s paper ‘Changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol: a discussion paper on our strategic approach’ and the UK Government’s , ‘Safe, Sensible, Social – Consultation on further action’.
Read full documents here http://www.cideruk.com/social_responsibility

Our response to the Scottish paper points out that due to its small market share, cider and perry cannot be singled out as being responsible for alcohol misuse in Scotland, as some would suggest.  Said Bob: ‘A review of published reports in the public domain produced by the Scottish Executive, UK Government and other bodies, quite clearly demonstrates that no one alcoholic drink is responsible for alcohol misuse – misuse is caused by certain drinkers who clearly misuse alcohol and by some under 18s who are breaking the law.

He said that the issue in both Scotland and the rest of the UK is not a problem about problem drinks but about problem drinkers.

‘We are firmly of the view that any policy considerations should be based on robust evidence that is relevant to equivalent environments, as opposed to deploying convenient data to fit an argument.’


‘This is not a problem about problem drinks but about problem drinkers.’

He said that given that the majority of the public drink sensibly and that alcohol is misused by a minority of drinkers, general population measures such as increasing taxes or other means of raising prices (curbing promotions, introducing minimum pricing etc.) are not the appropriate means for tackling misuse – it penalises the majority of sensible drinkers without necessarily dealing with alcohol misuse.

Also a study by the School of Health and Related Research at Sheffield University in the area of promotions and advertising failed to recognise the role these important activities had in trying to promote a cultural change with regard to alcohol consumption.

Said Bob: ‘The average strength of cider in the UK has reduced. There are also plans to introduce into the UK market significantly lower strength cider but before the product is put on sale more widely it is being trialed/promoted in a limited number of retail outlets. However, without the ability to promote such new products, producers will not be able to introduce them to the public at large. Of concern is that inevitably the market will stagnate and will become characterized by lower quality and cheaper products.

‘In summary NACM believes that the panoply of powers available to the police and local authorities should be used much more effectively both against individuals who misuse alcohol and those who wilfully seek to break the law in obtaining alcohol underage, as well as against those retailers who sell alcohol irresponsibly,’ he said.


The cider and perry share of the total UK alcoholic drinks market is about 6%, compared to beer (42%), wine (25%), spirits (25%) and RTDs (alcopops) (2%). 


The supermarket giant has taken the step to remove any beer and cider, which for example offers consumers 13.9% free, in response to the Scottish Government’s proposals to introduce minimum pricing and ban promotions.


However a survey, conducted by the company of 10,000 customers revealed that 61% oppose the introduction of a minimum price and almost 60% said that a minimum price or ban on promotions would not be effective in lowering alcohol consumption.


Three out of four also rejected proposals to force them to buy alcohol from a separate counter.



Heineken was forced by the ruling last February to block French access to its corporate site. Since then, some of the biggest drinks brands have shut out French visitors for fear of prosecution. ‘Today in France, the sight of a bottle of wine has become as offensive as a picture of war or pornography,’ said Daniel Lorson, a spokesman for CIVC, the industry body of champagne producers.



It has committed to:


Encouraging the responsible consumption of cider, perry and fruit wines, by communicating more widely on the need to drink responsibly and what is meant by responsible drinking and what is risky drinking behaviour and creating a tool kit for member companies to use to assist them with their social responsibility outreach.


1*Association des Industries des Cidres et Vins de Fruit de l’U.E



 

© NACM 2008