Alcohol warnings: taking it easy

A growing number of brewers are branding alcoholic drinks packaging with responsible drinking messages - Adam Withrington looks at the implications.

Last week Coors became the first national brewer to announce that it would be putting a responsible drinking message on the packaging of Carling lager. However, despite Coors' assertion that the message: "Enjoy Carling. Take it easy" would be on all UK packaging, the reality is that the message will only be found on cans of Carling. This means the initiative will almost entirely bypass the on-trade.

When questioned about any plans for the on-trade Coors was non-committal, saying it was something it was looking into. Closer investigation of this issue reveals that communication of the responsible drinking message and the on-trade do not go together easily.

The drinks industry is currently under huge pressure from the government to communicate the responsible drinking message in pubs, bars and clubs, particularly since the publication of the government's National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy in March.

The document, which is looking to solve the problem of irresponsible drinking, sets out its wish for the drinks industry to work alongside the government in the following statement:

"In future, expertise should be shared more effectively across the government. As part of this process, it will be crucial to harness the resources of the alcoholic drinks industry and of other stakeholders.

"While The Portman Group has provided a link to the alcoholic drinks industry in disseminating sensible drinking messages, more use could be made both of the industry's expertise in understanding and targeting consumers and the channels of communication at its disposal.

"As the drink-driving campaign has proved, messages are most effective when they are reinforced over an extended period. It is therefore vital that consistent communications are sustained over time."

As a result there have been discussions for some time between the major players to decide how best to communicate this message. According to Nigel Pollard, on-trade PR director for Scottish Courage, a huge amount of work is being done behind the scenes: "There are a lot of people in the industry putting in a lot of hard work. To say that nothing is going on in the on-trade is incorrect."

However, there has not been a unanimous agreement among the main players in the drinks industry as to what form this communication should take.

Mark Hastings, director of communications for the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "The key is making sure the message is put across effectively and the industry is looking at a whole range of options to make sure that this is done." One of these options is for messages to be put on packaging. Cains Brewery in Liverpool has been advocating this approach since last year, when it introduced responsible drinking messages on its packaging for the on and off-trade.

For example the advice printed on bottles of Cains 2008 Ale reads: "Alcohol advice: Robert Cain supports responsible drinking. Excessive drinking can cause harm. Observe the daily guidelines for sensible drinking. Do not drink and drive."

Coors is the first national brewer to follow suit, but Nigel Pollard told The Publican that ScotCo was looking to introduce something very similar. Chris Searle, executive director at Bacardi, and a spokesman for Diageo both said their companies would be looking to do the same.

Cains has now taken this policy one step further to ensure the message gets across in the on-trade as Sudarghara Dusanj, joint managing director of Cains, explains: "We are going to put our messages on drip mats, glass mats, posters and other advertising material. So much on-trade marketing is about point-of-sale (POS) and point-of-purchase (POP) and so we will use those as best we can - there will be a big push with POS over the next year."

It seems the industry is on board, however, one problem may be that some licensees are reluctant, not least because they feel it is their responsibility and not that of the drinks companies to keep order in a pub.

Pauline White, licensee of the Dog and Partridge in Ascot, says she would not use materials such as messaged drip mats and beers mats. "If you have things like drip mats in here it looks like you're trying to enforce rules on people who are just out to have a good time on a Friday night," she says.

Other licensees feel that the problem lies with how you get the message across. "Communication is everything," says Chris Scholey, a multiple retailer whose pubs include the Bedford in Balham, London.

"A lot of POS material that we receive from all the different brewers and drinks companies gets thrown in the bin and even if it doesn't, are licensees going to be happy to have posters all over their walls saying: 'have two pints and then clear off'? It seems like government hypocrisy to me. One minute they're having 24-hour opening and the next they are putting warning labels on bottles."

Chris McLean, licensee of the Plough and Harrow in Bridge, near Canterbury, feels the same way.

"I agree we need to support the promotion of responsible drinking," he says. "I have just put some Portman Group 'don't do drunk' posters up in my pub, but I feel there is a real lack of joined-up thinking from the government and the industry on this issue.

"I cannot understand how brewers, drinks companies and pub companies want you to sell as much drink as possible but also sell as little as you can. I suppose we need to be getting more people drinking less, but I'd hate to see these messages become compulsory in pubs because I think licensees have to take on some responsibility."

So what do these licensees see as the solution to the problem? Pauline White believes the most important thing is for the drinks suppliers to stop discount booze deals. "I realise that drinks companies feel under pressure," she says. "But they have to stop all of this cheap alcohol and these multiple purchase promotions."

Chris Scholey argues that training is the key. "The real problem is that publicans have to be aware of whether or not someone is drunk," he maintains. "I believe that every day in this country a licensee breaks the law by serving someone who is drunk. The publican has to be responsible and able to tell if someone has had too much to drink and able to train their staff to do the same.

"The responsibility comes down to good training and controlling the environment. But it is very difficult getting this message across without insulting consumers."

Licensees and the drinks industry need to work together in partnership. The brewers and drinks companies say they are doing this and there is no doubt that efforts are being made in that direction.

There is no denying the fact that drinks companies and brewers have made a serious commitment to alcohol responsibility. However licensees are not totally convinced and there is a feeling that they are not being consulted as much as they would like.

Let's hope the drinks industry realises this and makes extra efforts over the coming 12 months and beyond.

Reactions from the on-trade​

• Diageo​

A spokesman says: "Putting messages on packaging is something we have looked at and are definitely considering. We already promote sensible drinking in our Every Serve Perfect (ESP) programme - part of it includes training bartenders on ways of promoting responsible drinking. "The solution is one of partnership - everyone will do their own thing but we have to find out what will have the most impact on consumers. Once we understand that we will see what to do. I don't think there's one solution that will crack this, it will be a varie