First the good news. Despite a number of scare stories in the press, the government is not going to ban the advertising of alcohol. That would almost certainly have made the production of the printed version of this magazine impossible. That said, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care did say, “We are exploring options for partial restrictions to bring it closer in line with the advertising of unhealthy food”– whatever that might mean. It is thought that the terms of the recent trade deal with the USA might have been an issue here because American exporters would have claimed that a widespread advertising ban was a ‘non-tariff barrier’.
The Government’s denial of the advertising ban came with the release of their ten year plan for the NHS. The leisure industry’s main representative body, UKHospitality, has urged that there should not be ‘blunt and ill-suited measures’ introduced to control restaurants and pubs, saying, “It’s also important to remember that hospitality is a place for special occasions and where many people gather for a treat. Whether it’s a trip to the local pub, dining out at a restaurant or getting a takeaway, these are occasions that really matter to people and what they look forward to. These instances aren’t a daily occurrence and likely to be a treat every few weeks or months. We need to ensure the sector isn’t pushed into new rules that end up tainting these experiences.”
Not for the first time, the Guardian newspaper used pictures of pints of beer in a pub to illustrate an article on alcohol abuse. They were taken to task by Laura Emson, a member of CAMRA’s National Executive and chair of CAMRA’s Member and Volunteer Experience Committee. She wrote to them as follows: “Why are you still using the images of people drinking socially to illustrate articles about the harm of alcohol? Firstly, the pub is a social hub and provides many benefits, including employment and significant taxes to the public purse, all the while doing less harm than the alternative – slabs of strong beer sold by supermarkets reclaiming VAT and other ways to artificially reduce the price. You also do not know that the drinks being drunk even contain alcohol. Low and no alcohol drinks are the fastest growth area of the sector and could easily be in those glasses. Yes, look at the health ramifications but don’t make it about pubs. They are more part of the solution than they are the problem. Make your sub-editors do a better job and stop being so lazy.”
Tony Hedger