Spain’s Minister of Health has drafted a law limiting alcohol advertising and wider alcohol exposure to under 18s approved by the government.
Mónica García presented the proposal to the Council of Ministers on Tuesday (30 July) which it approved, according to the local newspaper El Plural.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Health wrote that the law will establish a “comprehensive framework to protect the health of minors and promote responsible alcohol consumption in society”.
It aims to prevent alcohol consumption by “delaying the age of [drinking] onset, protecting against the consequences of consumption and reducing episodes of intensive consumption in this vulnerable group”.
The law will limit alcohol advertisements near schools and equivalent educational centres, as well as parks and other places designed for children. This applies to 0.0% abv drinks too, the ministry said.
Adults will also be prohibited from consuming alcohol at events that are intended for under-18s, including concerts and children’s sports fixtures.
Similarly, there will also be restrictions on television advertisements, which may not use the image or voice of persons under 21 years of age or pregnant women.
The Ministry of Health said it is now required to publish a text of the draft law for public hearing, as well as carry out a hearing for "entities" that might be impacted by the legislation.
A debate for the subsequent approval of the law is expected to reach Congress by the end of this year, reports from El Plural said.
According to a recent state survey on drug use in secondary education in Spain, alcohol is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance among students aged 14 to 18. In 2023, 75.9% said they have consumed it at some point in their lives. 73.6% consumed it in the last year, and 56.6% in the last month.
Among 12- and 13-year-old students in the first and second years of compulsory secondary education, 34.6% admitted to having consumed alcohol at some point in their lives.
The Ministry of Health said: “This survey shows that the average age of initiation of consumption is too early, both for occasional consumption (14 years for men and women) and for weekly consumption (15 years).
“On the other hand, adolescents’ perception of the ease of acquiring alcoholic beverages is very high and the percentage who consider it would be easy or very easy for them to obtain alcoholic beverages reaches 93%, despite the fact that regional regulations prohibit sales to minors.”
