State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen has stopped the consultations about drinking. The talks with the parties involved have yielded too little, according to the minister in a letter to the House of Representatives. “I find that disappointing but inevitable.”
With the talks, the cabinet hoped to achieve the goals of the prevention agreement, but the pace at which that is being achieved is ‘really disappointing. That’s bad news for our health.” The State Secretary says that he has established that, for example, the positions and interests of the producers of alcohol and the health funds ‘prove to be irreconcilable’.
Parties involved in the promotion of health, but also, for example, sellers and producers took part at the discussion table. Initially, the consultations went well, according to a report, but the differences of opinion have slowly increased.
‘Strive for consensus is extremely valuable. But in this situation it leads to deadlock. While the prevention agreement needs speed,’ says Van Ooijen.
The consultation table is therefore discontinued and replaced by another form of consultation. “But we don’t say goodbye to each other,” he emphasizes. ‘I will continue to consult with all partners about how we can achieve the goals of the prevention agreement on time.’ According to Van Ooijen, all partners have indicated that they remain ‘individually committed’ to the goals of the prevention agreement.
The prevention agreement is aimed at improving health in three areas: smoking, overweight and problematic drinking. The latter concerns alcohol use by young people and pregnant women and alcohol consumption in quantities that are harmful to health.
Industry
Last week, the Netherlands Institute for Alcohol Policy STAP and the Dutch Association of Beverage and Catering Inspectors (NVDI) already informed One today managed to get out of the consultation because of the presence of the alcohol industry. “After 4 years of consultation, it has become clear that the industry is opposed to any effective policy measure,” said STAP director Wim van Dalen.
“When it comes to prices, the representatives of the alcohol industry keep their mouths shut, when it comes to availability they keep their mouths shut,” said Van Dalen. “They have become so shrewd at avoiding the discussion.” The Trimbos Institute also says that consultations are made more difficult by the presence of the beverage industry.
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