Following the strengthening of health warning messages on cigarette packs, and then the price increase in late 2003, voices were raised to question France’s policy on preventing alcohol-related risks. Thus, the newspaper La Croix ran the headline on December 9, 2003, “Against Alcoholism, French Inertia,” reporting in particular that “alcohol specialists are asking the government to fight alcohol with the same determination as it does tobacco.” A few weeks earlier, the daily newspaper Libération, commenting on the inclusion of warnings on cigarette packs, had already questioned the absence of strong health messages on alcohol bottles: “Why isn’t there ‘alcohol kills’?” In early 2004, the same daily reported on the issues at stake in the debate reignited by the High Council for the Future of Health Insurance regarding alcohol taxation: “Could a sharp increase in taxes encourage drinkers to moderate their consumption?” [article excerpt]