How the wine industry is attacking “alcohol-free January”

It’s early evening. Sitting on the terrace of a bar, a young man ordered a coffee. The reason: he spends the month of January without drinking alcohol. A challenge he only heard about from friends: “I haven’t seen any prevention campaigns”he assures us.

It must be said that no campaign is organized by the health authorities… to the great dismay of Professor Mickaël Naassila. This addictologist, director of the alcohol research group at the Picardie Jules Verne University, assures us: the January challenge is very beneficial for health.

“At the physiological level, in terms of blood pressure, cholesterolconcentration, we feel better, we sleep better, and that’s where we measure the full impact.” he explains to us.

Mickael Naassila has been angry since the cancellation, a few years ago, of a campaign to support Alcohol-Free January. It should have taken place in January 2020. As we can see from internal documents that we consulted, Santé Publique France had prepared an entire awareness-raising operation, in which it participated.

We understood at a meeting that there would be no follow-up. We did not have a precise justification, but we understood that the decision had been made above

Pr. Mickaël Naassila, addictologist

at the Eye of 8 p.m.

Agnès Buzyn talks about pressure

At the time, the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn simply explained that she had not given the green light for this campaign.

“This campaign format is not today validated by my ministry”, she assures on November 21, 2019 on Franceinfo.

We contacted her again. She, who has since left the ministry, no longer gives quite the same speech and speaks of pressure.

It is obviously not the Ministry of Health which decided alone to stop this campaign. It is an arbitration that was imposed against the Ministry of Health.

Agnès Buzyn, former Minister of Health

at the Eye of 8 p.m.

She adds : “I am convinced that the wine lobby played a role. These are multitudes of actors […] which have their relay in the ministries of industry, agriculture, finance, at the Elysée.”

A press release criticized by the wine lobby

Since then, the January challenge has never been put back on the agenda.

Last year, in January 2023, Santé Publique France simply mentioned Dry January in this press release, presenting it as “an interesting opportunity to control your alcohol consumption”.

The reaction of the wine industry was not long in coming. Barely a few days later, she sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron, which the Radio France investigation unit obtained. We can read there:

“We are alarmed to note that the press release from Public Health France solemnly invites the French to participate in Dry January. Our professionals can only deplore this prohibitionist turn.”

This letter was co-written by Vin et Société, an organization which represents the entire wine industry.

“The decision is not ours”

We went to Bordeaux to interview one of its managers: Stéphanie Piot, deputy general director of Vin et Société. She accepts the comments made on Dry January, but refutes the idea of ​​pressure being exerted on the government.

“When the subject of Dry January arose, we made known the position of the sector, which is: we avoid the alternation of excess and abstinence”

Stéphanie Piot, Wine and Society

at the Eye of 8 p.m.

“We represent 450,000 jobs, obviously we weigh in. When we have a message to convey to the government, we tell them, they listen to us, they listen to the addictologists in front, and behind the scenes the decision does not belong to us,” assures Stéphanie Piot.

When contacted, the Ministry of Health did not respond to us.

Among our sources:

A letter from 48 addictologists calling for support for Alcohol-Free January

The press release from Public Health France

The Vin et Société website