INVESTIGATION. When the Ministry of Health rejects two prevention campaigns on alcohol

The Rugby World Cup has just started in France, and as usual, processions of supporters gather in bars or at home to watch the matches. It was a perfect opportunity for those involved in prevention to remind people that alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health.

In anticipation of the competition, in November 2022, the General Directorate of Health (DGS, one of the directorates of the Ministry of Health) therefore asked Santé Publique France (national public health agency) to work on a campaign of prevention on the theme of “alcohol and rugby”. It should have aired in early September. However, according to information from the investigation cell of Radio France, it was simply canceled. Everything was ready though. The scenario: a “supporter coach”, a strong physique, had to remind the spectators to avoid “alcohol abuse”. “Don’t let alcohol knock you out.”said the slogan that remained in the boxes.

Two campaigns rejected

Another campaign met the same fate, as revealed The chained Duck in its issue of July 12, 2023. Entitled “When we drink heavily, our health takes a hit”, it showed people having a drink, with the following prevention messages on the other part of the image: “Drinking alcohol increases the risk of heart rhythm disorders” or “Drinking alcohol increases the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.”

This campaign, which required more than a year of work, will not finally be broadcast on television screens, nor published on billboards, as was however planned.

According to our information, the visuals of the two campaigns were presented by Santé Publique France, in the presence and with the support of the DGS, at the end of May 2023, in the office of the Minister of Health at the time, François Braun. A few weeks later, the ax fell. These two campaigns are canceled.

On the other hand, the ministry gives its approval for a prevention campaign aimed at young people. Entitled “C’est la base”, it takes up the principles of a previous campaign broadcast in 2019, namely: “Watch out for your friends if they drink too much”, “Also drink water in the evening” And “Don’t forget to eat”. It will be broadcast soon, especially on social networks. What the Ministry of Health confirms to us: “In the context of a significant number of campaigns carried out by the State and its operators including SPF in the second half of 2023, it was decided to review the priorities on the Alcohol theme and to prioritize the ‘young people’ target,” a member of the cabinet writes to us.

Pressure from the wine lobby

These arbitrations do not surprise Myriam Savy, director of advocacy within the association Addictions France. “Prevention campaigns aimed at young people or pregnant women do not bother alcoholics, because they are targeted”, she explains. On the other hand, the two censored campaigns “are aimed at the general population who regularly consume alcohol. They are told ‘alcohol poses a health risk. It is a risk factor for cancer’. And the alcohol industry does not like that “.

Myriam Savy also denounces “the pressure exerted by the alcoholists on the public authorities, and in particular the Elysée”. But what pressures are we talking about? According to our information, Vin et Société (the French wine lobby, which brings together 500,000 producers and players in the sector) sent an inflammatory letter on January 12 to Emmanuel Macron. The missive was written in response to the Public Health France prevention campaign broadcast during the holidays. She pointed out the paradox of “toasting to someone’s health”, when precisely “alcohol is not health”.

This formulation made Vin et Société jump. The lobby denounced Emmanuel Macron “an inept slogan”. “This campaign does not show any scenes of excessive alcohol consumption, simply families and friends getting together, moments of sharing that unite several generations,” protests Vin et Société, which has always preferred to communicate the fact that it is alcohol abuse that is dangerous for health, not alcohol consumption in itself.

A bias denounced by associations like France Addictions, which reminds us that simple consumption “increases the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases”. Was the letter from Vin et Société the reason for the cancellation of the two scheduled campaigns? According to our information, Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet has passed on the recriminations of the alcohol sector to François Braun’s cabinet. Subsequently, explains a well-informed source, there was “a form of self-censorship” at the ministry. They have “flingué” the other two campaigns, we are told.

New minister, but same approach

Will the new Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, be on the same line? Apparently, we are heading there. After the cancellation of the two campaigns, it was proposed to rebroadcast an old one dating from 2019 structured around the following slogans: “More than two drinks per day, you increase your risk of brain hemorrhage, cancer and hypertension.” “For your health, alcohol is a maximum of two drinks per day. And not every day.”

But this proposal was refused this summer by Aurélien Rousseau’s cabinet. “It’s extremely worrying”, reacts Myriam Savy from the Addictions France association. She recalls that “the social cost of alcohol is 102 billion euros. We have the impression that economic interests [de la filière alcool, NDLR] come before the health of the population.

These questions are not new. In 2019, those involved in prevention were already upset by the government’s about-face on Dry January (alcohol-free month). At the last moment, the government withdrew its support for this operation, leaving the associations to carry it out alone, outside of any public policy.

Asked about possible pressure from the alcohol lobby, Aurélien Rousseau’s office did not answer us on this point, just like Emmanuel Macron’s press advisor. The Ministry of Health is happy to let us know that the online site “Alcool Info Service” will be “reinforced”.

Alert the Radio France investigation unit: To transmit information to the Radio France investigation unit anonymously and securely, you can now click on alerter.radiofrance.fr