Alcohol policy in Hungary
Based on the draft alcohol and drug strategy drawn up in 2009 by the National Addictology
Centre (hereinafter NAC draft), we can establish the following. In Hungary, there is no zero
tolerance, nor a harm reduction alcohol policy clearly in practice, but there is an alcohol
policy that merges the two. The reason for that is that regulations from different levels and of
different character can only be effective together. Currently “we can not rely on any effective
example of a well-conceived modern alcohol policy” with the possible exception of one
Nordic or Scandinavian model. it is however not likely that copying alcohol strategies that
met with success elsewhere without any changes would be unanimously successful. For this
reason, the NAC draft regards a comprehensive approach, coordination and up-to-date
methods (linking with monitoring and evaluation) to be the foundation of a good policy.
According to the NAC draft, the levels of the alcohol policy are as follows:
1. The maturity of society's psychological culture (the demand and use of psychological
assistance services),
2. The active contribution of the system of social and healthcare institutions (family support
centres, child protection institutions, community-based addictology care),
3. Best possible use of the opportunities of community and NGO action (‘tailored’
programmes for leisure time within the local community, calls against driving under the
influence of alcohol and for accident prevention, making nightclubs safer),
4. Research of the alcohol programme (fact- and reason-finding, good practices),
5. Developing an institutional basis, and coordinating institutional work.
In Hungary, the sale of alcohol to underage persons on any commercial premises is prohibited
by law. Practical experience, however, suggests that in shops and nightclubs almost anyone
can have access to alcohol. Rudolf Andorka, a sociologist says that “in the system of norms
and values of Hungarian society, there have long been elements that allow suicide and
drunkenness in certain situations, and even suggest it.” (Andorka, 1997) This is also
supported by numerous Hungarian proverbs and folk traditions.1
The sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol are all relatively freely enjoyable in Hungary,
but there are more and more restricting norms in legal regulations on different levels for the
protection of public order. The age limit of legal alcohol consumption is not stipulated, but it
is forbidden to serve or sell alcohol to persons under the age of 18 in the restaurant and retail
trades.2 Despite that, the survey of ESPAD into the perceived availability of certain
substances found that more than three quarters of the youngsters asked believed they had easy
access to cigarettes, wine and beer, and half of the respondent said the same about spirits.
(Elekes, 2009)
1
E.g. ’Wine in small quantities is medicine, in large quantities medication’; ’Truth lies in wine’; ’Do not drink on the bear’s
skin in advance’ (meaning: don’t count your chicks until they are hatched).
2 Government decree 218/1999 on petty offences
There are no regulations on the minimum requirement for distance between commercial
outlets selling alcohol (bottled or otherwise), but with the exception of restaurants or similar
serving hot meals the sale of alcohol is forbidden within 200 metres from the entrance of
institutions of primary and secondary education, healthcare institutions, and institutions of
child and youth protection.3 Further protected institutions and locations are also stipulated in
the regulation, such as associations of schoolchildren, certain types of sports facilities and
domestic coach services. A violation of the ban on the sale, serving and consumption of
alcoholic drinks qualifies as an offence. There is no unified central regulation on the
limitation of the hours of selling alcohol, but more and more municipal governments issue
restrictive regulations on the opening hours of outlets selling alcohol, the time of selling
alcoholic drinks, and the consumption of alcohol in public areas to protect the peace of the
local population.4 Due to the strict inspections, these regulations brought the desired results,
and the number of complaints from inhabitants about the nightly disturbance of peace is
decreasing.5 At the beginning of 2011, a new regulation in Budapest banning the consumption
of alcohol in pedestrian underpasses entered into force6, about the enforceability and success
of which there are no data as of now.
Hungarian legal regulations on advertising alcoholic drinks count as permissive in the
European context. The provisions of Hungarian legal regulations7 mainly serve the protection
of minors under 18 years of age by forbidding the advertising of alcoholic drinks targeted at
or showing children or juveniles, but indirectly also by applying other sanctions in relation to
contents aimed at manipulating youngsters. It is for example forbidden to link alcohol
consumption with better athletic performance, driving, social or sexual success and it is also
forbidden to encourage heavy alcohol consumption. Advertisements attributing a medical,
stimulative or sedative effect to alcohol or those that present alcohol as a possible way of
solving personal conflicts are also not allowed. Further restrictive regulations forbid the
publication of advertisements of drinks containing alcohol on the cover of any press product,
on the opening page of a website, in theatres and cinemas before 8 pm, during and directly
before or after television programmes aimed at youngsters under 18 years of age, on any
product marketed as a toy or on its packaging, in public educational and healthcare
institutions or within 200 metres of their entrance. Despite this apparently exhaustive
regulation, Hungarian youngsters encounter advertisements of alcoholic drinks every day,
such as for example at sports events, clubs or on television, and due to the anomalies of the
regulation – such as the lack of clear definitions – restrictions for content are also easy to
circumvent. According to the opinion of the authors of the draft entitled ‘Alcohol policy and
strategy’ from 2009 – which probably mirrors the opinion of the majority of experts working
in the field of prevention –, stricter and more efficient regulations are necessary in relation to
the advertising of alcoholic products.
3
Government decree 4/1997 on the operation of commercial outlets and the conditions of domestic trade
Such regulations are in place e.g. in several districts of Budapest, but also in other cities, such as Debrecen, Miskolc and
Pécs.
5
Source: Magyar Távirati Iroda Zrt.
6
Municipal government decree 73/2010 on the modification of decree 59/1995 of the Budapest General Assembly on the
use and order of the public spaces in Budapest.
7
Act XLVIII of 2008 on the basic conditions and certain restrictions of commercial advertising activities; Act CLXXXV of 2010
on media services and mass communication.
4
Despite the fact that the majority of drug-induced mortalities is caused by legal substances,
and that smoking and alcohol consumption represent a public health problem several
magnitudes larger than illegal drugs – not to mention the criminological aspects and other
direct societal damage of alcohol consumption –, illegal substances and their users enjoy
more publicity in the media, giving a characteristically negative and false image of the
phenomenon. In recent years, however, there is a definite shift in emphasis towards the
increasingly realistic, factual depiction of the problem.
The aim of Arnold’s research was to assess how the press depicted drug users in 2005, and
what attitudes it represented in relation to the drugs phenomenon. (Arnold, 2006) The
majority of articles (89.2%) was unbiased, and did not use overly dramatic or sensationalistic
expressions in relation to the drugs phenomenon. The dailies mainly presented the drug
problem in the context of crime, conveyed a criminal image about the users, which may lead
to the alienation of the drugs phenomenon.
As part of a survey in the spring of 2005 (Kó & Münnich, 2005), in-depth interviews with 118
well-known and less well-known media personalities were recorded. The aim of the survey
was to map out the attitudes of media personalities in relation to the drugs phenomenon. The
perceived danger from drugs shows a significant correlation with the degree of informedness:
Those who were less informed believed the illicit substances to be more dangerous, than the
better informed respondents. Women are significantly better informed than men.
Eszter Sarik, Judit Szabo and Katalin Parti
References:
Andorka R. (1997) Bevezetés a szociológiába. Osiris: Budapest
Arnold P. (2006) Kábítószer-jelenség a 2005-ös írott sajtóban. In: Felvinczi - Nyírády Portörő (szerk): Jelentés a magyarországi kábítószer-helyzetről 2006, Szociális és Munkaügyi
Minisztérium kiadványsorozata Nyitott Könyvműhely Kiadó, Budapest. pp. 61-64.
Elekes, Zs. (2009) Egy változó kor változó ifjúsága. Fiatalok alkohol- és egyéb
drogfogyasztása Magyarországon – ESPAD 2007, L’Harmattan, Budapest
Kó j. & Münnich I. (2005) A médiaszereplők kábítószerrel kapcsolatos attitűdjének
vizsgaálata. Kutatási beszámoló. Elérhető online:
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:hPgeIbx9Sf4J:www.szmm.gov.hu/download.ph
p?ctag%3Ddownload%26docID%3D1542+k%C3%B3+m%C3%BCnnich+2005+m%C3%A9
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