Código FEBE de autorregulación publicitaria
PREAMBLE
Whereas the Federación Española de Bebidas Espirituosas “FEBE – Licoristas de España”, brings together over 150 companies in Spain producing and distributing spirit drinks and derived products, which presupposes the representativeness of practically all the sector;
Whereas the production of spirit drinks is an important sector of the Spanish food industry;
Whereas production and consumption of spirit drinks are firmly rooted economically and socially in Western culture and in Mediterranean and Spanish culture, making it inseparably associated with leisure, habits and lifestyle, with a major impact in the Catering and Tourism sector;
Whereas in Mediterranean countries spirit drinks form part of a culture, in which consumption is lawful and is connected with habits and lifestyle;
Whereas one of the main missions of FEBE is to promote the active social responsibility of the sector, contributing in cooperation with the authorities and society as a whole towards action to combat abusive consumption of alcoholic beverages, to prevent their consumption in groups or situations where there is a risk (minors, drivers, pregnant women, etc.) and to promote responsibility, moderation and good sense in the consumption of alcoholic beverages for the rest of the population;
Whereas experience of the total prohibition of advertising of spirit drinks has demonstrated its absolute inefficacy and lack of results in preventing problems deriving from their abuse and alcoholism;
Whereas, on the contrary, information campaigns and education in a social context constitute the most effective means of raising citizens’ awareness of these problems and that to this end advertising is especially useful as a vehicle for sending out messages aimed at encouraging moderate and responsible consumption.;
Whereas in our market economy system advertising is an essential element in the configuration of free competition, both for introducing new products and for expansion and securing customer loyalty for existing products, together with consideration for the legitimate economic interests of consumers and, in particular, their right to information and freedom of choice;
Whereas, in a manner consistent with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, advertising is included within the scope of freedom of expression;
Whereas a self-regulation code for advertising must establish a set of principles and rules of a deontological nature which, always in compliance with the legislation in force in this field, define the meaning and scope of the applicable laws and specify the conduct, practices and strategies which, in the light of the said laws, are considered objectively to conform or not to conform with the requirements of good faith and good business practices;
Whereas the self-regulation systems in the field of advertising and commercial communications are enjoying considerable and growing recognition, by both the Community institutions and the national legislator, and are encouraging and driving the preparation of codes of conduct by all the parties concerned;
Whereas the Council Regulation of 5 June 2001 (2001/458/EC)1 expresses the need for the Member States, in accordance with the different legal, normative or self-regulatory contexts, to promote in cooperation with producers and distributors of alcoholic beverages and relevant non-governmental organisations the establishment of effective self-regulating mechanisms in the fields of the promotion, marketing and distribution of alcoholic beverages, independently of the means used, within the framework of codes of conduct;
Considering Directive 2005/29 of 11 May concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices following the publication by the European Commission of the Green Paper on Consumer Protection in autumn 2001 and the work developed subsequently on this subject, in which self-regulation is called upon to play an extremely relevant role;
Whereas the European Parliament in its resolution on the Green Paper on Commercial Communications and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection have encouraged the industry to introduce minimum principles for consumer protection, to step up self-regulation [in complaints procedures] and to prepare codes of conduct;
Whereas the members of the Federación Española de Bebidas Espirituosas intend at all times to ensure that their advertising is in keeping with the legislation in force, together with the requirements of good will and good business practices;
Whereas the Federación Española de Bebidas Espirituosas, fully aware of the importance of self-regulation in advertising, the principles of which it fully shares, and taking into account the specific characteristics of the spirit drinks sector derived from the strict legislation to which it is subject, produced its own Advertising Self-Regulation Code in 1999;
Whereas FEBE and its member companies, considering the application of and compliance with the Advertising Self-Regulation Code to have been a positive experience, wish to update it in order to reaffirm its permanent commitment to social responsibility towards consumers and society, strengthening and intensifying the promotion of responsible advertising of spirit drinks;
The General Assembly of the de la Federación Española de Bebidas Espirituosas, meeting in Madrid on 8 July 2006, decided to update its Advertising Self-Regulation Code, created in 1999 and revised in 2006, approving the following Deontological Code.
1 “Without prejudice to any national legislation or measures, producers and retailers should be urged to establish or enforce self-regulatory controls over, and to agree on standards for, all forms of promotion, marketing and retailing of alcoholic beverages, irrespective of the medium used, in the framework of codes of conduct.” “Self-regulation of advertising for alcoholic beverages, which has the support of the relevant interested parties, such as producers, advertisers and media and which is already working in a number of Member States, often in close cooperation with governments and non-governmental organisations, can play an important role with regard to the protection of children and adolescents from alcohol related-harm.”
