THE LOI EVIN

							 THE LOI EVIN :

A FRENCH EXCEPTION




                     1
        What is « loi Evin »

• An alcohol and tobacco policy law voted in
  France in 1991




                                           2
        What is « loi Evin »
• One of the most severe law on advertising
  in Europe
• In a country where « passion » for alcohol
  is hot
• In a country where alcohol control is often
  low
• How can we explain this real French
  paradox ?
                                            3
           Why this law ?
• Former French law (in the seventies) was
  discriminating : it gave advantage to
  French products
• France was condemned in 1979 by the
  European Court of Justice
• But French governments took time to
  change the law


                                             4
A Decade of French advertising
From 1980 to 1990 alcohol producers
used this legal gap

The ad became more and more
provocative




                                      5
 Sexe, alcohol and French life

• Alcohol and sexe   • Alcohol and sport




                                           6
 Help! What does the police ?
• Ignoring their own codes of good practices
  the ad men and producers went high in
  provocation and played with fire.
• The only way to stop these ads was to
  legislate
• ANPA and health experts lobbied until
• Loi Evin was voted by the French
  parliament
                                           7
Articles of Loi Evin on alcohol
•   Definition of alcoholic drinks
•   Nature of advertising authorized
•   Content of advertising
•   Others topics : i e alcohol selling
    automate are forbidden




                                          8
      1. Definition of drinks
• The law gives a clear definition of
  alcoholics drinks :
• All drinks over 1,2 % alcohol




                                        9
      2. Places and media of
      authorized advertising

• Advertising is forbidden
  - when targeted to young people
  - on TV and cinema

• No sponsorship is authorised


                                    10
       3. Within these media
•Messages and images should refer only to
the qualities of the products : it allows to
give information on the products as the
producers ask

•A health message must be included :
« L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé »
Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health


                                                  11
     Consequences of the law
           1991-2004
• Illegal advertising have been condemned

• Since 1991 :
   - 20 advertisements were brought to the
  Court by ANPA
  - And 18 were condemned



                                             12
    Consequences of the law
          1991-2004

• Penalties are high
• So alcohol producers, media and admen
  became more careful
• And advertising has lost most of its
  seductive character



                                          13
     Changes in advertising
• Before the law   • After the law




                                     14
These ads were judged illegal in
       France in 2004 !




                               15
   Consequences on Media and
            Sports

• Cancellation of          • American brewer
  international football     Anheuser Bush could
  matches                    not sponsor the 1998
                             Football World Cup

                           • And France won the
                             Cup for the first time


                                                      16
 What are the limits of the law ?
• Many marketing tools   • Control of advertising
  are not controlled       is only a part of an
• Mailing                  overall strategy of
• Internet                 prevention
• Social events




                                                17
     A law difficult to assess

• Difficult to assess the role of one factor
  (here advertising) on consumption and
  harm

• The effect of advertising on consumption
  is weak

                                               18
     A law difficult to assess
• Assessment is more difficult in the French
  situation where we benefit of a dramatic
  diminution of the average consumption
  - since 1960
  - 1 % per year
  - from 30 to 13 litres alcohol per capita per
  year

                                              19
    A law difficult to assess
• Quantitative effects may be impossible to
  assess…
• … but symbolic effects are visible




                                              20
The symbolic effect of the law
• Advertising reinforces preconceived ideas
  about alcohol
• In most European countries advertising
  associates alcohol consumption with
  personal, sexual and social success…
  even if it forbidden by codes of practice
• A law is the only way to change this
  seductive language
                                          21
European ads




               22
 Where have the French images
            gone ?

• Authorized ad in   • Illegal ad in France




                                              23
      The need for a European
       legislative framework

• Development of multinationals
• Products and images cross frontiers
• Internationalization of life styles and
  drinking cultures




                                            24
 A law that cannot be ignored
• The law has been attacked in and outside
  France

• Very recently…
 while the law has been attacked by the
  French wine producers…
 it has been defended by the Advocate
  General of the European Court of Justice
                                             25
The Advocate General proposes
 that the Court should rule that

• French measures on advertising limit the
  consumption
• French rules are not disproportionate
• The French law allows the freedom to
  provides services enshrined in the Treaty



                                              26
 We hope that the law is here to
     stay because this text
• is easy to apply
• is difficult to distort
• has modified the seductive language of
  advertising
• is compatible with European legislation

• This is no real surprise as the law was a
  response to the 1979 European Court
  decision
                                              27
We hope that the spirit of the law
  could be applied in Europe

• Minimal measures compatible with
  subsidiarity
• In order to protect the younger generations




                                           28
 We propose for instance inside
    the European Union to

• Forbid all forms of marketing using sport
  events

• Forbid advertising on television




                                              29