While Public Health France was preparing to announce the launch of a month of mobilization around the consumption of alcohol, the site Vitisphère, reports that President Macron would have declared during a lunch with champagne producers his opposition to a "dry January". If this statement were to be confirmed, it would show the major influence of the alcohol industry on public health policy choices, says Professor Michel Reynaud, President of the Action Addiction Fund.
"Everything is ready"
"The campaign 'January without alcohol', it's been six months since it was prepared by Public Health France," he impatiently. This campaign encourages the French to give up alcohol for a month, explains Michel Reynaud, "to prove to themselves that they can control their consumption". To set it up, the national health agency would have obtained a loan of 600,000 euros from the fund for the prevention of addictions, validated by the national social security fund. "Everything is ready, and the president stops a public health campaign."
This type of campaign already exists in other states. "It exists in at least 16 major countries in the world, and in this country, studies show that there are benefits," says the professor. In the short term, a month without alcohol has a positive influence on the skin, concentration, sleep and weight, he explains. In the longer term, it would reduce its consumption of a glass a day on average. To be continued...