Statement by The Century Council in Recognition of World Health Organization's World Health Day Activities Focused on Global Road Safety 4/6/2004
From: Maria Harris Tildon of The Century Council, 202-637-0077 WASHINGTON, April 6 -- Following is a statement by The Century Council in recognition of the World Health Organization's World Health Day activities focused on global road safety: "The Century Council, created in 1991, is national not-for- profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible decision making about drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol through education, law enforcement, research, communication and other programs. To date, America's leading distillers have invested more than $130,000,000 in Century Council efforts to fight drunk driving and underage drinking. The Council is one of many Social Aspects Organizations (SAOs) that exists around the world solely to combat irresponsible alcohol consumption. "Building on individual company efforts over many decades, Social Aspects Organizations were formed in the early 1990's to marshal industry-wide efforts to combat irresponsible alcohol consumption. Founded at the national level by beer, wine and spirits producers -- sometimes acting together and sometimes separately -- SAOs work with government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to promote responsible decision making with regard to beverage alcohol and address the social problems associated with inappropriate or excessive consumption of alcohol. "A great concern of many around the globe is the thousands of lives lost each year as a result of drunk driving. Here in the United States, The Century Council has joined others in advocating for Zero Tolerance laws for underage drivers and Administrative License Revocation and tougher penalties for repeat offenders. The Council has also led the way in increasing both the public's and policy makers' awareness of the heavy toll inflicted by hardcore drunk drivers, identifying promising strategies and tactics to reduce the number of alcohol-related fatalities they cause, and advocating for stiffer penalties based on the integrated concepts of swift identification, certain punishment and effective treatment. "In Europe, nine separate SAOs are at work sponsoring a number of different designated driver programs and public awareness campaigns in cooperation with National Road Safety Institutes. A number of these campaigns are financially supported by the European Commission. The positive results of these campaigns indicate that a strong policy combining strict enforcement of current legislation with ongoing information and education can change drivers' behaviors. "In conjunction with World Health Day and its emphasis on global road safety, we affirm our commitment, and that of the distilled spirits industry that supports our efforts, to reduce the number of alcohol-related deaths on our roads through tougher laws, meaningful education and effective communications. For more information about any individual SAO and their designated driver campaign, please visit the individual Web sites listed below." BELGIUM, IBSR / BIVV, Chaussee de Haechet 1405, B-1130 Brusseles, Tel: 32-2-244-15-56, http://www.ibsr.be PORTUGAL, ANEBE (Associacao Nacional De Bebidas Espirituosas), Pc Nuno Rodrigues dos Santos 7 sala 7/14, PT-1600 Lisbon, Tel: 351-217-217-400, http://www.100porcentocool.pt DENMARK, GODA (Gode Alkoholdinger), Kattesundet 9, DK-1458 Copenhagen K, Tel: 45-33-13-93-83, http://www.goda.dk SPAIN, Fundacion Alcohol y Sodiedad, C/Villalar, 4-ext.Izq., ES-28001 Madrid, Tel: 34-91-745-08-44, http://www.alcoholysociedad.org FRANCE, Enterprise & Prevention, 13 Rue Monsigny, F-750002 Paris, Tel: 33-1-53-43-80-75, http://www.soifdevivre.com THE NETHERLANDS, 3VO, Huizermaatweg 600, Postbus 423, 1270 AK Huizen, Tel: 31-35-524-88-60, http://www.3vo.nl GREECE, CERTH / HIT, 6th jm Charilaou-Thermi Road, P.O. Box 631, 57001 Thermi, Thessaloniki, Tel: 30-31-49-82-65 http://www.certh.gr UNITED KINGDOM, The Portman Group, 7-10 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, UK-London W1G 9DQ, Tel: 44-20-7907-3700, http://www.portmangroup.org.uk IRELAND, MEAS (The Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society Limited), Merrion House, 1-3 Fitzwilliam Street, Lr, Ireland-Dublin 2, Tel: 353-1-611-4811, http://www.meas.ie ------ Launched in 1991, The Century Council is funded by America's leading distillers -- Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine North America Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, Inc., DIAGEO, Future Brands LLC, Pernod Ricard USA, and Sidney Frank Importing Co. Inc. The Council's mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding beverage alcohol and discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research, law enforcement and other programs. For more information on the Council, log onto http://www.centurycouncil.org. | |