Germany

[DE] New Calls for Alcohol Advertising Ban

IRIS 2000-4:1/32

Alexander Scheuer

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

The Federal Ministry of Health has again called for alcohol advertising regulations to be tightened (see IRIS 1997-6: 14). With particular reference to television advertisements for alcoholic products, the Ministry believes the current regulations are insufficient to combat alcohol addiction.

Provisions on alcohol advertising are currently set out in the 1998 version of the German Advertising Council's rules on advertising and teleshopping for alcoholic beverages, which are applicable under the terms of the Regional Media Authorities' "Common Guidelines on advertising, the separation of advertising and programme material and television sponsorship" (revised version of 10 February 2000) (see IRIS 2000-3: 6). The above-mentioned rules form part of the German media's self-regulatory instruments. They mainly concern the portrayal of young people enjoying or, as the "Television without Frontiers" Directive puts it, experiencing the supposedly positive effects of alcohol.

There are now calls for television and radio advertising of alcohol to be banned between 6 am and 10 pm and during sports broadcasts, while the possibility of including a health warning in advertisements and on the products themselves (similar to those on tobacco products) is also under discussion.