Work on amending the Act on upbringing in sobriety and counteracting alcoholism includes a proposal to completely ban the advertising of beer and non-alcoholic beer. The Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers estimates that this is a tool that goes against the goals of health policy, but may also affect thousands of Polish entrepreneurs, not only in the brewing industry, but also in the catering industry.
According to experts, the proposed restrictions are incomprehensible in a situation where the beer market has been shrinking for six years and the lower consumption of this drink is responsible for the overall decline in alcohol consumption in Poland.
Beer advertising ban getting closer?
– They have appeared recently as many as four draft amendments to the Act on upbringing in sobriety and counteracting alcoholism. These are the projects of the Left, Poland 2050, the government and, recently, PiS, Confederation and PSL. Each of them, although to varying degrees, contains provisions that are harmful to entrepreneurs and do not fully meet the goals of health policy, says Aleksandra Wróbel, a regulatory analyst at the Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers, to the Newseria agency. – I mean here in particular the ban on advertising beer and non-alcoholic beer, because both of these proposals do not support the idea expressed in Art. 1 section 1 of the original Act on upbringing with sobriety of purpose.
The above-mentioned provision states that government administration bodies and local government units are obliged to take actions “aimed at limiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages and changing the structure of their consumption, initiating and supporting projects aimed at changing customs in the way of consuming these beverages, promoting sobriety in the workplace, preventing and removing the consequences of alcohol abuse, as well as supporting the activities of social organizations and workplaces in this area.”
“Disproportionate solution”
– In our opinion, the beer advertising ban is an absolutely disproportionate solution. One of the arguments that can be given to support our thesis is the fact that beer consumption has been falling continuously since 2018, despite the admissibility of advertising, and is currently very close to the consumption in 2003, when advertising became permissible, so from our perspective it is an absolutely ineffective tool – emphasizes Aleksandra Wróbel.
Statistics presented by the National Center for Addiction Prevention (KCPU) based on Central Statistical Office data show that in 2024 the consumption of alcoholic beverages amounted to 8.8 l 100%. alcohol per capita and was 1 liter lower than in 2019. During this time, beer consumption in Poland dropped from 5.3 liters to 100%. alcohol to 4.72 l. The volume of consumption of strong alcoholic beverages remained at a comparable level during this time.
– Poles are drinking less and less, especially beer, and here suddenly there are projects that are very rigorous. They are radically trying to limit, above all, beer, but in our opinion most of these solutions are irrational and disproportionate to the situation. The example of Lithuania is often cited as a country where the government took radical actions and limited consumption. But we forget to add that in Lithuania the situation was dramatic, there was the highest alcohol consumption in Europe, twice as high as in Poland – says Bartłomiej Morzycki, general director of the Association of Brewing Industry Employers – Browary Polskie.
The Polish beer market is shrinking
The association's data indicate that as consumption falls, the Polish beer market is also shrinking. The volume of beer production in the years 2019-2024 decreased from 39.7 to 34.6 million hl, i.e. by 13%. A downward trend is also observed in the first half of this year, when it amounted to 6.9%. y/y, and preliminary data for the summer months indicate deeper declines.
– In this situation, we have projects that – I do not hesitate to say – primarily target beer, and do not refer, for example, to the issues of excessive or pathological consumption, which Poles often indicate in surveys as the most pressing problems – emphasizes Bartłomiej Morzycki.
The expert also draws attention to the omission in the regulations of the so-called monkeys and night sales of alcohol. The industry emphasizes that the consequence of introducing advertising restrictions for beer will also be the inhibition of the development of the non-alcoholic beer segment, which is incomprehensible from the point of view of health policy goals.
– We should strive to increase awareness of the offer of non-alcoholic drinks. This will contribute to shaping better consumer habits and achieving health policy goals, believes Aleksandra Wróbel. – There are countries such as Great Britain and Ireland that even legislatively encourage the promotion of these products, and one of the ways to do this is to exempt them from the sugar fee. We are going in the completely opposite direction. The Ministry of Finance is considering increasing VAT on non-alcoholic products.
The government bill does not explicitly mention the ban on advertising non-alcoholic beershowever, there is a provision that “anyone who, contrary to Article 13.1, advertises or promotes products and services whose name, trademark, graphic shape or packaging is similar to or is identical with the designation of an alcoholic beverage or another symbol objectively referring to an alcoholic beverage shall be subject to a fine of PLN 20,000 to PLN 750,000 or restriction of liberty, or both penalties.”
Trade will suffer
The ZPP expert points out that the changes proposed in the projects may potentially discriminate against small stores. There are unclear provisions that may deprive stores smaller than 200 sq m. area for the sale of alcoholic beverages with alcohol content below 4.5%. alcohol, including beer.
– This would be completely unjustified discrimination against a certain group of entrepreneurs, which would benefit larger retailers offering a larger range – explains Aleksandra Wróbel. – But above all, small towns that do not have large-format stores would lose out. There, there could be a change in the structure of alcohol consumption towards spirits.
According to the proposed regulations, the sale of alcoholic beverages using, among others, discounts, rebates, bonuses, loyalty packages and programs, donations, prizes, trips, games of chance will be treated as a form of their promotion. ZPP sees this as a risk of restrictions in B2B relations.
– In our opinion, rebates or discounts in relations between entrepreneurs are absolutely natural market mechanisms and we do not understand why the advertising and promotion ban should also cover them, because it would not cover the end consumer in any way. Such rebates or discounts help to improve the supply chain, says a regulatory analyst at the Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers.
Gastronomy and hotels too
– The impact of this ban on the catering and hotel industry is direct. Nowadays, we see umbrellas and beer gardens everywhere, sponsored and donated by producers. If all these umbrellas, glasses and accessories have to be thrown into the garbage, there will be additional costs because the restaurateur will have to buy them. Therefore, a restaurateur or hotelier who is currently struggling with employee problems and expensive media will have one more problem – says Sławomir Grzyb, president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce.
As he emphasizes, the advertising ban may also mean a ban on showing brewery brands on bottles, pourers in the bar or on the menu.
– We are going back to the problems we had with censorship in the Polish People's Republic, because it will be censorship and restriction of freedom – says Sławomir Grzyb.
Another industry that may be affected by the proposed regulations is e-commerce. They assume that the sale of alcohol online is limited to personal collection by the buyer at the point of sale. This solution, according to ZPP, practically eliminates the variant of direct delivery of the parcel to the customer.
– In our opinion, these are completely redundant regulations, ignoring the dynamic development of the e-commerce sector in recent years – says Aleksandra Wróbel. – At the same time, we agree with the legislator that it is absolutely necessary to ensure effective verification of the age of buyers, but there are other ways to do this, e.g. a courier could act as an intermediary. Ultimately, we believe that platforms should create systemic mechanisms for age verification, and existing solutions could be used for this purpose, such as banking systems or mObywatela. We encourage you to develop tools that will simply make life easier for entrepreneurs.
The Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers called for a thorough change of the project and for further legislative work to be based on reliable analyzes and scientific evidence.
– In their current form, these proposals not only do not bring benefits to public health, but may also harm thousands of Polish entrepreneurs, limit competition and slow down the development of the legal market for low-proof and non-alcoholic beverages – points out a regulatory analyst at ZPP.
