Taking Aim at Alcopops

Marion Caspers-Merk, deputy health minister in charge of the German government’s drug policy, has called for a new "sin tax" doubling the price of alcopops. And her proposal has received high-level support from Consumer Affairs Minister Renate Künast.

The move is designed to stem the growing popularity of alcopops among under-age drinkers.

With their eye-catching packaging and snappy but wholesome-sounding names like Rigo, Breezer and Smirnoff Ice, the mixed drinks don't appeal to mature bon vivants, but they certainly tickle the unrefined palate. And at 89 cents to €1.80 ($1.05 to $2.12) a throw, they're not going to bust the bank either.

The drinks may not leave much of a dent in the average teenager's weekly pocket money, but to the manufacturers, they're big business. Sales of Rigo and Breezer make up some 56 percent of Bacardi Deutschland's entire turnover. Rival company Diageo depends on Smirnoff Ice for half its profits. With sales of alcopops rising from 3 to 13 million liters ( 0.8 to 3.4 million gallons) between 2001 and 2002, this is clearly an advertiser's dream come true.

A slippery slope

Alcopop companies have long been charged with deliberately targeting underage drinkers. That's one reason why leading politicians now want to introduce tax hikes to clamp down on the flourishing trade.

Rolf Hüllinghorst from the German Center for Addiction (DHS) told German public broadcaster ARD he's convinced companies consciously develop a brand image designed to appeal to young people. He approves of the proposed price increase and also says that public debate can help bring the matter to the attention of parents.

Officially, the under-18-year-olds aren't allowed to buy alcopops, but savvy teenagers across the country know that few retailers ever check IDs. The bottled drinks taste strongly of sweet fruit juice rather than alcohol, and critics say this is what makes them dangerous as "starter drugs." For inexperienced drinkers, alcopops can be the first step on the slippery slope to substance abuse. Young people grow used to the liquor content -- the equivalent of two shots per bottle -- and may soon graduate to the hard stuff.

A health ministry spokesperson told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper that any changes to legislation would depend on a recently-commissioned study on the vodka, whisky and rum-based drinks. It is due for publication in late December.

Following in France's footsteps

A similar move in France in 1997 caused the market for alcopops to more or less collapse.

Marion Caspers-Merk says, "I believe the French example is very promising and viable, and it is in keeping with EU law."

Last year in Britain, meanwhile, members of the opposition conservative party criticized similar government plans to more than double the tax on alcopops. Sales in Britain also boomed in recent years after the drinks were made liable to lower duty than spirits. This was meant to benefit lower strength alcoholic drinks, but health campaigners argued it led to an increase in alcohol consumption among 18- to 24-year-olds.

New plans to reverse the exemption angered the UK drinks industry, which accused Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown of threatening jobs.

Protests from the spirits industry

It's the same story in Germany. The Association for the German Spirits Industry (BSI) has been quick to speak out against the proposed tax hikes, arguing that alcopops are legally-manufactured products and the bottles carry labels strictly prohibiting sales to the under-18-year-olds.

In an interview with DPA news agency, managing director of BSI Angelika Wiesgen-Pick denied that young people were deliberately targeted by manufacturers and pointed out that "if the gastronomers and retailers don't stick to the age-restrictions, the manufacturers can't be held responsible."

While the spirits industry, politicans and parents are all busy pointing fingers, researchers say alcohol abuse among teenagers is on the rise.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Bielefeld-based sociologist Klaus Hurrelmann has conducted a survey that shows that 3.6 percent of 11-year-old boys, 8.2 percent of 13-year-olds and 22.1 percent of 15-year-olds regularly drink alcopops -- sobering statistics indeed.