In 2014, it seemed that regulations would be relaxed. After Russia banned imports of Polish apples, a local campaign was launched in favour of eating apples and drinking local cider. Calls were made for cider to be treated like beer, not wine: lowering the excise from €40.00 ($44.30) to €25.00 per hL, and allowing advertising. Wine hoped to benefit as well; the Polish Wine Trade Association was founded as a lobbying group. Excise on cider was eventually lowered, but relaxation of the advertising regulations was blocked by PARPA.
Tensions have been mounting.
Current rules
The right to cider advertising was officially backed by the Ministry of Economy, held by the rural Polish People’s Party, which represents the interests of growers and producers. An update of the alcohol law of 1982 was requested by other groups, too, particularly with regard to Internet wine sales.
These are not explicitly prohibited and so about 100 distributors, including publicly listed companies such as CEDC or Ambra, have for years sold wine online based on their premises’s licence. PARPA claims that the law implicitly forbids such sales and has encouraged local authorities to crack down on Internet shops, which are having their licences removed. Owners could even face prosecution. Even wine blogs that post photos of wines have come under scrutiny for ‘illegal promotion’.
Several MPs have called for a change in the law, and the Ministry of Economy initiated a legislative process in 2014. This was blocked by the Ministry of Health (of which PARPA is an agency). Now PARPA is counterattacking. Its director, Krzysztof Brzózka, has officially called for a reduction of the number of licences, suppression of late evening sales, minimum pricing on alcohol, and a ban on beer advertising. Beer is the only alcoholic beverage that can be advertised — an exemption granted in 2001 after heavy lobbying from breweries. Poland is one of the world’s largest beer consumers (nearly 4bn L or 100 L per capita); expenditure on advertising is estimated at €150m per year. By questioning the status quo, Mr Brzózka is raising the stakes.
Poland’s regulations of the sale and marketing of alcohol do not seem as stringent as those of, for example, Scandinavia. But they are very complex — as is much Polish legislation —and there is a wide grey area that is interpreted by the many regulatory bodies in idiosyncratic ways. There are three licenses for selling alcohol, further subdivided into three categories according to alcoholic strength (4.5% abv, 18%, and above). The regulations concerning excise stickers and advertising run several pages. In a comprehensive analysis of the entire alcohol framework, done by my wine website Winicjatywa in 2014, Poland ranked amongst EU countries with the strictest policies.
Wine distributors understand the gravity of the situation, but the trade is fragmented and lacks the resources to lobby. The old habit of quietly adapting to shifts in legal interpretations runs deep. “We need less regulation, not more,” said a leading distributor, “but I don’t want an enquiry into my online business so I am not going to fight against PARPA.” Polish wine producers, who could use the Internet as a main sales channel, are also penalised.
PARPA director Krzysztof Brzózka’s answer to criticism is that the World Health Organisation recommends that European countries limit the availability of alcohol, to fight alcohol-related harm. That is indeed the bottom line of the WHO’s Global status report on alcohol and health 2014. But according to the same report, Poland’s alcohol consumption has actually decreased to 12.5 L per capita from 13.3 L a decade ago. Despite the stereotype of Poland as a nation of heavy drinkers, nearly all indicators of harmful use — alcohol use disorders, dependencies, liver diseases, and alcohol-related road accidents — place Poland at or below the EU average. Poland has one of the highest number of retail outlets selling alcohol (150,000) but consumption is on the same level as Finland, with its 500 state monopolies.
Politics
Yet scientific analysis is unlikely to determine legislative change — politics will. Poland will hold a general election in October, and the right-wing Law & Justice party is expected to replace the liberal Civic Platform in government. The latter’s MPs have advocated a relaxation of the law under a free market agenda. Law and Justice, on the other hand, might be more responsive to the “socially responsible” idea of cutting down on alcohol. Its senators already voted in favour of stricter regulation in 2010, but the bill failed to pass. A new majority, and PARPA’s new momentum, might change the dynamics.
In 2013, the Polish government raised €2.8bn in excise and €1.9bn in VAT on alcoholic beverages, a combined 7.7% of its total budget. Local councils raise a further €175m from retail licences. PARPA’s annual budget is €1.5m.
