Italy

This page contains information on statutory alcohol marketing
regulations in Italy (table 1); a description of the restrictions per medium (table 2); labelling information (table 3); information on non-statutory alcohol marketing regulations (table 4); the complaints procedure; a summary about the Italian regulations on alcohol marketing and exhaustive, downloadable documents from the ELSA & FASE research projects.

Update: January 2018



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Table 2 Regulations per mediumType of restrictions
TVTelevisionBan on alcohol advertising in certain situations (e.g. children programmes) (Article 13 (2) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Ban on advertising for spirits between 4 and 7 pm (Article 13 (4) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Youth protection policy (Article 13 (2, 3, 5) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001; Article 15 RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON TELEVISION WITHOUT FRONTIERS - LAW N. 327/1991; Article 4 (2, 4) SELF-REGULATION CODE ON TELEVISION AND MINORS; Article 2 (REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTT. 13,15,16 OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE 89/552 CEE REGARDING TELEVISION ADVERTISING OF TOBACCO AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND THE PROTECTION OF MINORS MINISTERIAL DECREE N. 425/1991)
Content restrictions (Article 15 RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON TELEVISION WITHOUT FRONTIERS - LAW N. 327/1991; Article 2 REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTT. 13,15,16 OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE 89/552 CEE REGARDING TELEVISION ADVERTISING OF TOBACCO AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND THE PROTECTION OF MINORS MINISTERIAL DECREE N. 425/1991)
RadioMusic-Radio-iconBan on alcohol advertising in certain situations (e.g. children programmes) (Article 13 (2) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Ban on advertising for spirits between 4 and 7 pm (Article 13 (4) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Youth protection policy (Article 13 (2, 3, 5) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001; Article 4 (2, 4) SELF-REGULATION CODE ON TELEVISION AND MINORS)
Outdoor marketingOutdoor AdvertisingNone
Printed mediaPrint mediaBan on alcohol advertising in certain situations (e.g. children programmes) (Article 13 (2) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Youth protection policy (Article 13 (2, 3, 5) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
CinemaCinemaBan on alcohol advertising in certain situations (e.g. children programmes) (Article 13 (2) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Youth protection policy (Article 13 (2, 3, 5) LAW ON ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS - ART. 13 ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING - LAW N. 125/2001)
Internet/digital mediaOnlineNone
Promotional itemssales promotionsNone
(Sports) sponsorshipsponsorshipNone
Table 3 Labelling informationDescriptionLegally binding or self-regulation
Health warnings:Yes, pictograms aimed at preventing drunk driving and drinking while pregnant.Self-regulation, since 2012.*pregnancywhite
Ingredients/nutritional informationNo

* The self-regulation adopted since 2012 has many brewers using pictograms on FASD prevention and drink-driving. For example like on this Peroni website.

Table 4 Non-statutory Alcohol marketing regulations in ItalyCoverage
Code of Marketing Communication Self-Regulation Italy
63rd edition effective March 8th, 2017
First edition dated May 12th, 1966

Il Codice di Autodisciplina della Comunicazione Commerciale
63ª edizione, in vigore dall’8 marzo 2017

http://www.iap.it/codice-e-altre-fonti/il-codice/#

English version at http://www.iap.it/about/the-code/?lang=en

Special rules:
Art. 22 – Alcoholic Beverages
Marketing communication concerning alcoholic beverages should not be in contrast with the obligation to depict styles of drinking behaviour that project moderation, wholesomeness and responsibility. This principle aims to safeguard the primary interest of the population in general, and of children and young people in particular, in a family, social and working environment safeguarded from the negative consequences of alcohol abuse.
In particular, marketing communications must not:
• encourage excessive, uncontrolled, and hence harmful consumption of alcoholic beverages;
• depict an unhealthy attachment or addiction to alcohol, or generally lead people to believe that
resorting to alcohol can solve personal problems;
• target or refer to minors, even only indirectly, or depict minors or people who clearly appear to be
minors, consuming alcohol;
• make direct use signs, symbols, drawings, fictitious characters or real people of primary appeal to
minors, that may arouse the direct interest of minors;
• associate the consumption of alcoholic beverages with the driving of motorised vehicles;
• induce the public to believe that the consumption of alcoholic beverages promotes clear thinking and
enhances physical and sexual performance, or that the failure to consume alcohol implies physical,
mental or social inferiority;
• depict sobriety and abstemiousness as negative values;
• induce the public to disregard different drinking styles associated with the specific features of
individual beverages and the personal conditions of consumers;
• stress high alcoholic strength as being the principal feature of a beverage.
TV, radio, cinema, outdoor, print

The following document contains an in depth (but older) overview of alcohol marketing regulations in Italy: alcohol-marketing-regulations-Italy.pdf

For even more (but older) information on alcohol marketing regulations in Italy, please take a look at Italy’s appendix to the 2007 ELSA (Enforcement of national Laws and Self-regulation on advertising and marketing of Alcohol) report.