2023-11-24 05:30:00
One month before Christmas, health professionals are concerned regarding the democratization of advent calendars on the theme of alcohol, which according to them encourage daily consumption during a festive period. Far from the recommendations of health authorities.
Gone are the days when Advent calendars were reserved for children. Today, this tradition supposed to keep the youngest waiting until December 24 with a picture or a chocolate per day comes in all forms and for all ages. Toys, perfumes, cosmetics, food… and even alcohol.
Many producers of wine, whiskey and other brewers have positioned themselves on this market. Ranging from around sixty to several hundred euros, their advent calendars offer one bottle per day for 24 days.
“It works quite well, it’s something that has developed over the last five years, especially among a male audience,” confirms Clara Wyler. Founder of the Duchemann brewery, in Oise, she develops several calendars each year between 30 and 90 euros.
“On the one hand, there are enthusiasts who want to treat themselves a little, and those who want to give ‘a nice gift’ to a loved one: a father, a cousin, a brother for the end-of-year holidays” , she explains.
“It’s not chocolate!”
If the public seems seduced by this new trend, doctors and addiction professionals do not see it favorably. Professor Amine Benyamina, president of the French Federation of Addictology (FFA), has an extremely strong opinion on the issue:
“It’s completely sneaky in that it trivializes the product and its consumption, and it encourages people to consume not only regularly, but even daily,” laments the professor.
For him, these initiatives are totally inappropriate: “The industry has once once more found a way to hijack a tradition to sell. I can only regret that it has become engulfed in this social ritual.”
“The promotion of alcohol is already everywhere around us,” denounces Professor Mickaël Naassila. President of the French Society of Alcoholology, he sees in these Advent calendars an “additional way of anchoring its consumption in our daily lives”, by associating alcohol with a “festive moment of the year”.
The consumption of alcohol is here linked to “a playful object, borrowing from the childish world and evoking Christmas celebrations”, also deplores Franck Lecas, of the Addictions France association, interviewed by 60 million consumers. Especially since the Evin law seeks to protect minors from incitement to consume alcohol, by largely regulating in favor of alcoholic beverages.
A concept deemed inappropriate
“The message sent to young people is very bad,” supports Mickaël Naassila. “From a commercial point of view, there is no denying it: the idea is very good because it is super positive communication. But it is disastrous in terms of public health. In addiction, we are fighting precisely the development of habits and we emphasize how important it is to have days without alcohol, at the risk of it becoming automatic.”
“It is enough that in the evening, following having consumed the beer from your Advent calendar, you have another alcoholic drink at the table and you will already be well beyond the public recommendations,” he adds.
Health authorities recommend not consuming more than 10 “standard” glasses per week and no more than two “standard” glasses per day, as well as having “days during the week without consumption”.
Well aware of the “pernicious” side of alcohol, Clara Wyler hears these criticisms regarding encouraging daily consumption. However, the founder of the Duchman brewery wants to sweep away the “drinking side” of the concept. For her, the idea is not necessarily to consume the bottle from each opened box the same day, but rather to keep them for future consumption.
She also insists on the fact that the bottles offered in her Advent calendars are not perishable for at least a year. For her, the pleasure of the concept lies more in the “wonder and discovery of a new bottle every day that we will keep for later”.
“Some will drink one every now and then, then save the one the next day and the day following for the next aperitif with friends,” she says. “The idea of the calendar is also to take the time to appreciate the time that separates us from the tasting, by saying to ourselves ‘I know it’s waiting for me in the fridge’.” But you obviously have to know how to follow this approach.
Even in low doses, alcohol can be dangerous for your health. To find out more, go to Alcool Info Service. A toll-free number 0980.980.930 is also accessible anonymously every day from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
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