asked the Minister for Health whether he has concluded his perusal of the report on the character of advertisements addressed by the liquor industry to young people; and, if so, what action he proposes to take to ensure that the present practice is discontinued.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Liquor Advertising.
4.
I have, of course, read the June, 1971, edition of the Code of Advertising Standards for Ireland to which the Deputy is no doubt referring and I shall be writing in the near future to the appropriate authorities about it.
I should, perhaps, explain that, in its own terms, the code is a voluntary code drafted for the guidance of advertisers, distributors, advertising agencies, those controlling advertising media and the suppliers of various advertising services, and its purpose is to formalise existing advertising practices here and to define practices considered undesirable.
The present edition contains a part dealing with the advertising of alcoholic beverages. This is the first time that advertising practice in this area has been formalised and to this extent is a clear and responsible recognition for the industry that the time has arrived for guidelines to be set down. I suggest that in those circumstances it would be reasonable and fair to wait and see how the new code will work out before making any judgment.
When the Minister says "soon", does he mean weeks or months and to what extent do they have to accept these guidelines?
It is a voluntary code.
They do not have to accept?
They do not have to accept.
Can the Minister tell me what he means by "soon" roughly? Weeks or months?
I would say that we would have to wait for several months before we can see how the new code is working. The Deputy may be aware of the fact that in October, 1971, we are doing a television campaign on alcoholism in connection with the international convention on alcoholism that is taking place in this country. We are taking steps as far as we can to point out the dangers of alcoholism. As the Deputy may also know, I have asked three health boards, as an experiment, to appoint a social worker with a vocational gift for speaking about alcoholism, to make inquiries into it and to undertake public relations work under the aegis of the health boards and with the help of the National Council for Alcoholism.