TALLINN - The Social Affairs Ministry has proposed imposing a complete ban on the advertising of alcohol in Estonia, which would apply not only to hard liquor, but to beer and wine as well, the Aripaev business daily reported on Nov. 5. The Economy Ministry, however, opposes the idea.
"It has been agreed among senior members of our ministry that the Social Affairs Ministry's recommendation concerning a full ban on alcohol ads won't be taken into account in the draft of the new Advertising Act. Rather, the bill will be debated without considering this proposal," Martin Jashko, PR adviser at the Ministry of Economy and Communications, told the newspaper.
"We do not see any reason at this point why effective regulations should be changed. While we do admit that we're having serious differences with the Ministry of Social Affairs on this issue, the decision has to be made at a governmental level," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Marko Pomerants said he saw no reason why the ministry should back down on its proposal, which it put forward during a recent meeting to discuss the drafting of the new Advertising Act.
"If there is anybody at all who gains from these advertisements, it's the media channels, which are making money with this. But it's certainly not the consumers," Pomerants said.
