The prevention campaign launched Monday on the risks linked to alcohol consumption only features very young drinkers in a party context, and has removed slogans that could concern other audiences, which irritates the fight associations against addictions.
The alcohol prevention campaign launched on Monday September 25 among young people has attracted criticism, because it encourages people to drink alcohol with good reflexes rather than reducing their consumption.
With slogans that sound like tips for avoiding “hangovers”, such as “drink water also when you drink alcohol, that’s the basis” or “eating before drinking alcohol is the basis”, the campaign targets the young people embodied in the images. Very young drinkers, as if it were normal for a young person to drink, provided they also drink water and eat pasta with ketchup while drinking alcohol.
A readjusted campaign
It is an understatement to say that between the campaign that was initially supposed to be launched and this one, the government has put a little water in its wine. As revealed by the Radiofrance Investigation Unit, one of the campaign’s striking slogans was originally supposed to be: “If you drink a drink, your health takes a hit”. A global campaign with multiple messages targeting all audiences. A year of work buried by the Ministry of Health, which decided to abandon all references to the consequences for health.
Now there are only films and posters aimed at young people, which are above all not moralistic. This campaign may not be useless, but it only aims to reduce the risks associated with “binge drinking”,rapid binge drinking in an evening. A scourge since a third of 17-year-olds experienced at least one episode of “binge drinking” last year.
Some 49,000 premature deaths in France each year
But young people are not the only ones to drink, and to drink too much. This is why the associations fighting against addictions were absolutely keen on the other part of the campaign, which was buried. The other posters were intended to remind each alcohol consumer of the risks to their health.
Nearly a quarter of French people still think that drinking wine is more beneficial for their health than not drinking it. Eight out of 10 people are still convinced that the most serious consequences of alcohol consumption are road accidents and not health consequences such as cancer. These preconceived ideas are completely false, alcohol being the cause of 49,000 premature deaths in France each year.
The “It’s the Basics” campaign never addresses the need to reduce alcohol consumption. A campaign more compatible with the expectations of alcoholics than with public health requirements. However, being concerned about public health, for a government, “is the basis”…