“Opinion has changed”, Addictions France wants to intensify prevention against alcohol

The Surgeon General of the United States has recommended putting a prevention message on alcohol bottles. A wish shared by the president of Addicitions France, Bernard Basset, who regrets this Saturday at the microphone of RMC the lack of investment on the part of the State. “The political class is behind public opinion,” according to him.

Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States, recommended on January 3 the implementation of warnings on alcoholic beverages to warn the public of carcinogenic risks. “Alcohol is a well-established and preventable cause of cancer,” he warned. A wish and a position shared by Bernard Basset, president of the Addictions France association. “It’s normal for consumers to be informed about a consumer product,” he explained this Saturday on RMC.

“This is not a trivial product”

“A survey by the National Cancer Institute, carried out two years ago, showed that a large proportion thought that wine protected against cancer, which is obviously false. Alcohol promotes many cancers, digestive but also cancer of the breast, which we know less about”, underlined the guest ofAnaïs Matin. The idea of ​​putting a prevention message on alcohol bottles would allow consumers to “curb their consumption”. “We are warned that this is not a harmless product.”

As a reminder, it was in 2003 that the mention “Smoking kills” was introduced for the first time in France, with the obligation to affix a prevention message covering “at least 30%” of the package. It was then in 2017 that the neutral package was implemented, that is to say a standardization of the “packaging” with a gray color.

“Drinking kills” on alcohol bottles?

Would France be ready to see “Drinking kills” written in large letters on bottles of wine or beer? Bernard Basset wants to be optimistic. “I believe that opinion has changed considerably. A December poll showed that 84% of people questioned associated alcohol with drugs. People are ready for information that is a little off the beaten track and messages about “positive effect of alcohol with conviviality and heritage”, he considers.

The president of Addictions France is in any case convinced that public opinion is ahead in this regard compared to the political class, based on the “success” of Operation Dry January. This, imported from the United Kingdom, consists of not drinking a drop of alcohol during the entire month.

Dry January, a “success” but which does not benefit from any “cent” from the State

“Last year, 4 million people did it voluntarily, without it being moralistic or normative. This year, according to polls, we could have 17 million. I think they won't do it all month but this There are at least 17 million people who are worried about their consumption,” says Bernard Basset.

According to ISWR, a global provider of data and information on drinks, in 2022 France recorded the highest increase in new drinkers of non- or low-alcoholic drinks among Western countries (+25%), mainly from the generation of “Millennials” (born in the 1980s-1990s).

Even the French wine industry, although reluctant to support a campaign like Dry January, has started producing alcohol-free wine, in order to reflect the decline in sales. “Prevention campaigns against alcoholism must be carried out wisely.” “Stigmatizing” alcohol consumption “through a month when we should not drink is not normal,” complained Rémi Dumas, president of the Young Farmers of Gard, at the beginning of January.

“Censors because of the lobby”

However, this voluntarism of the French towards regular consumption of alcohol should therefore encourage public authorities to take up the issue of prevention head on, according to Bernard Basset. “It's not a prohibitionist message, we say 'Be careful with your consumption'”, he defends himself. “Santé Publique France should be able to issue more prevention messages, outside of January.”

Especially since the State does not inject any “cent of support” into the Dry January campaign, he recalls, thus praising an initiative driven by “activism”. “We know that there has been censorship in recent years, under pressure from the alcohol lobby.”