Alcohol Marketing: Explained

Summary

The script discusses the pervasive nature of alcohol marketing and its detrimental effects, particularly on young people and vulnerable groups. It highlights the World Health Organization's recommendation for comprehensive bans on alcohol marketing due to its role in normalizing alcohol consumption and contributing to health issues. The script also addresses the industry's tactics, such as targeting women and the LGBTQ+ community, and the need for international regulation to curb the impact of digital marketing.

Takeaways

• 🚫 Alcohol marketing is pervasive and can influence drinking habits, particularly among young people and vulnerable groups.
• 🔗 There is a clear link between alcohol marketing and increased drinking among youth, as evidenced by longitudinal studies.
• 🧠 Alcohol affects the developing brain, and marketing can encourage early initiation of drinking habits.
• 📉 Despite advertising codes, the ubiquity of alcohol ads makes it hard for minors to avoid exposure.
• 📈 The growth of social media and digital marketing has complicated regulation and increased public health concerns.
• 🌐 The World Health Organization recommends comprehensive bans on alcohol marketing due to its impact on health.
• 🚭 Alcohol marketing can trigger relapses in individuals recovering from alcohol use disorders.
• 👥 Marketing often intersects with gender norms, targeting women and reinforcing stereotypes through various strategies.
• 🏃‍♀️ Alcohol brands use sports sponsorship to associate their products with high achievement and healthy lifestyles.
• 💰 Alcohol companies are among the largest marketers globally, spending billions on marketing to maintain their market position.
• 🏛 The current self-regulatory system for alcohol marketing is complex and often ineffective, failing to protect public health.

Q & A

What is the annual global death toll attributed to alcohol consumption?

Alcohol consumption is responsible for approximately three million deaths worldwide each year.

How does alcohol marketing influence societal norms and behavior?

Alcohol marketing influences societal norms by creating an environment that normalizes alcohol consumption, making it seem normal, desirable, and even part of a healthy lifestyle.

What is the World Health Organization's stance on alcohol marketing?

The World Health Organization recommends comprehensive bans on alcohol marketing due to its impact on public health.

How does alcohol marketing affect children and young people?

Alcohol marketing can lead to earlier initiation of drinking among young people and increase the likelihood of them becoming higher risk drinkers.

What is the Bradford Hill criteria, and how does it relate to alcohol marketing and young people's drinking?

The Bradford Hill criteria are used in epidemiology to determine causality. Public health colleagues have applied these criteria to conclude that exposure to alcohol marketing has a causal role in young people's drinking.

How prevalent is alcohol marketing, and where can it be commonly found?

Alcohol marketing is ubiquitous, appearing at sports matches, on TV screens, online, at bus stops, and on billboards.

What concerns do health groups have about the impact of alcohol marketing on vulnerable groups?

Health groups are concerned that alcohol marketing targets children and reinforces harmful gender stereotypes, which can contribute to normalized alcohol consumption and related health issues.

How does the growth of social media and digital marketing affect alcohol advertising?

The growth of social media and digital marketing has led to a significant shift in how alcohol companies advertise, with concerns about the blurring lines between advertising and content, as well as the use of algorithmic marketing and retargeting.

What is the role of alcohol marketing in reinforcing gender norms and stereotypes?

Alcohol marketing often uses gender stereotypes to target women, promoting the idea that alcohol consumption is essential to social roles, relaxation, and empowerment.

How does alcohol marketing intersect with sports sponsorship?

Alcohol brands sponsor many high-profile sporting events, which exposes a large number of children to alcohol marketing and can associate alcohol with high achievement and healthy lifestyles.

What are some recommendations for improving the regulation of alcohol marketing to reduce harm?

Recommendations include enacting and enforcing bans or comprehensive restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising across multiple media types and developing an international framework for alcohol control.

Outlines

00:00

🍻 Alcohol Marketing's Impact on Society

This paragraph discusses the pervasive nature of alcohol marketing and its negative effects on public health. It highlights the need for extensive marketing due to alcohol's harmful health impacts, including carcinogenic properties and links to over 200 diseases and injuries. The World Health Organization's recommendation for a comprehensive ban on alcohol marketing is mentioned, emphasizing the failure of current regulatory structures. The paragraph also addresses concerns from health groups about the influence of marketing on children and vulnerable groups, and how it creates social norms that normalize and encourage alcohol consumption. Evidence of a link between alcohol marketing and young people's drinking habits is presented, with longitudinal studies showing increased exposure leads to higher likelihood of drinking. The paragraph concludes with the assertion that alcohol marketing plays a causal role in young people's drinking and can negatively affect brain development.

05:04

🚫 The Ubiquity of Alcohol Advertising

Paragraph 2 delves into the omnipresence of alcohol advertising and its unintended consequences on minors and young adults. It points out that despite advertising codes aiming to prevent targeting of minors, the sheer volume of alcohol ads makes it impossible for children to avoid exposure. The paragraph discusses the relationship between underage drinking and the likelihood of future alcohol problems, which are linked to positive expectations of alcohol use—expectations that marketing aims to foster. It also raises concerns about product placement, especially in media consumed by younger audiences, and the rise of social media and digital marketing, which have blurred the lines between advertising and content. The paragraph highlights the World Health Organization's call for more effective regulation due to the increasing targeting of young people and heavy drinkers by alcohol advertising. It also touches on how alcohol marketing can trigger relapses in individuals recovering from alcohol problems and the influence of marketing on gender norms and stereotypes.

10:07

🏆 Sports Sponsorship and Alcohol Marketing

Paragraph 3 focuses on the intersection of alcohol marketing and sports sponsorship, examining how marketers leverage the emotional connection fans have with sports to promote alcohol products. It criticizes the inappropriateness of associating alcohol brands with elite sports and healthy lifestyles, given the health risks associated with alcohol consumption. The paragraph discusses the significant marketing expenditures by alcohol companies, their role in creating and maintaining market monopolies, and the barriers to entry they create for competitors. It also addresses the argument that alcohol advertising is justified because alcohol is a legal product, and the industry's reliance on marketing to replace customers lost to alcohol-related deaths. The paragraph concludes with a critique of self-regulation within the alcohol marketing industry, suggesting that it is a conflict of interest and calling for stronger, external regulation to protect public health.

15:09

📢 The Failures of Self-Regulation in Alcohol Marketing

This paragraph scrutinizes the self-regulation of alcohol marketing, particularly in the UK, and finds it lacking in effectiveness. It points out that self-regulation often results in superficial changes without addressing the root causes of public health harm caused by alcohol marketing. The paragraph discusses the role of the Advertising Standards Authority and the Portman Group in maintaining a status quo that is deemed inadequate by public health standards. It provides specific examples of how self-regulation fails, such as the Portman Group's decision regarding the Captain Morgan brand, which was deemed not to appeal to children despite clear associations with piracy. The paragraph also highlights the inadequacy of current regulations, which allow for significant exposure of children to alcohol marketing during sporting events. It concludes with recommendations from the World Health Organization for comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising and calls for an international framework to regulate digital alcohol marketing.

20:13

🌐 The Need for International Regulation of Alcohol Marketing

Paragraph 5 emphasizes the global nature of the problem posed by alcohol marketing and the need for international regulation. It discusses how alcohol marketing normalizes and encourages consumption, creating an environment that views alcohol use as positive and normal, despite the significant health risks. The paragraph counters industry arguments against marketing restrictions by asserting that constant exposure to alcohol marketing influences decision-making and can restrict consumer choice. It also addresses how marketing targets specific groups, such as women and sexual and gender minorities, potentially reinforcing harmful stereotypes. The paragraph concludes by stating that governments have a responsibility under international law to protect and promote health by reducing alcohol consumption and harm, and it encourages viewers to seek more information on the topic from provided resources.

Keywords

💡Alcohol Marketing

Alcohol marketing refers to the various strategies used by the alcohol industry to promote their products, including advertising, product placement, and sponsorship. The video discusses how alcohol marketing is pervasive and can influence drinking behavior, especially among young people. It is a central theme as the script highlights the ubiquity of alcohol marketing in sports, TV, online platforms, and public spaces, and its potential negative impact on public health.

💡World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. In the context of the video, WHO recommends comprehensive bans on alcohol marketing due to its harmful effects on health, particularly its influence on drinking behaviors and the normalization of alcohol consumption. The script mentions WHO's stance as part of the argument for stricter regulations on alcohol marketing.

💡Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies are a type of observational research that involves observing the same variables over a long period. The script references at least 26 longitudinal studies that have shown a clear link between alcohol marketing and young people's drinking habits, indicating that increased exposure to alcohol marketing leads to a higher likelihood of drinking or increased consumption among those already drinking.

💡Bradford Hill Criteria

The Bradford Hill criteria are a set of guidelines that help to determine whether an observed association between two variables implies a causal relationship. In the video script, public health colleagues apply these criteria to conclude that exposure to alcohol marketing has a causal role in young people's drinking, suggesting that marketing is not just correlated but actually influences drinking behaviors.

💡Product Placement

Product placement is a marketing technique where products are incorporated into media content like films or TV shows. The script expresses concern over product placement, particularly in relation to children, as it can contribute to higher risk drinking and alcohol-related problems. It is highlighted as a form of marketing that can subtly influence attitudes towards alcohol use.

💡Algorithmic Marketing

Algorithmic marketing refers to the use of algorithms to tailor advertising to individual users based on their online behavior and preferences. The video script raises concerns about this type of marketing as it can present alcohol advertising to digital users based on their interests, potentially including people in recovery or those who are vulnerable to alcohol-related problems.

💡Gender Norms

Gender norms are the cultural standards that define what is considered appropriate or normal behavior for men and women. The script discusses how alcohol marketing intersects with perceived gender norms, using strategies such as creating products aimed at women and using messages that reinforce stereotypes. It illustrates how alcohol brands present alcohol as essential to various social roles and contexts that women occupy in society.

💡Sexualisation

Sexualisation in the context of the video refers to the use of sexual appeal in marketing to promote products. The script points out that alcohol marketing in nightlife environments often uses women's bodies and sexualities to sell products, which can normalize the objectification and sexualisation of women, potentially impacting attitudes and treatment of women in society.

💡Sports Sponsorship

Sports sponsorship is when a company pays to be associated with a sports event or team. The video script discusses the issue of alcohol brands sponsoring high-profile sporting events, which can lead to children being exposed to alcohol marketing. It is highlighted as a strategy that leverages the emotional connection people have with sports to promote alcohol.

💡Self-Regulation

Self-regulation in this context refers to the practice of industries creating and enforcing their own regulations. The script criticizes the self-regulation of alcohol marketing, arguing that it is a conflict of interest since those who profit from alcohol sales are also responsible for regulating the marketing. It suggests that self-regulation is inadequate in protecting public health.

💡Human Rights

The term human rights in the video script refers to the basic rights and freedoms to which all individuals are entitled. The script frames alcohol marketing as a human rights issue, arguing that people have a right to be protected from harmful marketing practices. It suggests that the current approach to alcohol marketing infringes upon individuals' rights to health and that states have an obligation to protect these rights.

Highlights

Alcohol marketing is pervasive and influences drinking habits.

Alcohol is linked to over 200 diseases and injury conditions.

Alcohol marketing affects societal norms, making alcohol consumption seem normal and desirable.

There's a clear link between alcohol marketing and young people's drinking habits.

Alcohol marketing can have a causal role in young people's drinking.

Alcohol affects the developing brain, and marketing can encourage early initiation.

Despite advertising codes, children are frequently exposed to alcohol marketing.

Underage drinking is related to positive expectations of alcohol use, which marketing encourages.

Product placement in media can increase the risk of alcohol use among young people.

Social media and digital marketing present new challenges for regulating alcohol advertising.

Alcohol marketing can trigger relapse in people recovering from alcohol use disorders.

Alcohol marketing intersects with gender norms and stereotypes.

Alcohol brands target women with messages that reinforce gender stereotypes.

Alcohol marketing is increasingly targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

Sexualized marketing in nightlife venues can impact women's safety and societal attitudes towards women.

Alcohol sponsorship of sports events exposes children to alcohol marketing.

Alcohol companies are among the largest marketers globally, spending billions on marketing.

Alcohol marketing not only sells products but also maintains oligopoly power in the market.

Self-regulation of alcohol marketing is fraught with conflict of interest.

Alcohol marketing restrictions are seen as a human rights issue.

The World Health Organization recommends bans on alcohol marketing.

Alcohol marketing normalizes and reinforces positive expectations of alcohol use.

Governments have a responsibility to regulate alcohol marketing to protect public health.

Transcripts

When you have a product that kills three million people a year worldwide,

is carcinogenic, and is associated with more than 200 disease and

injury conditions in the human body, you need to do a lot of marketing.

Alcohol marketing is all around us.

At our favourite sports matches, on our TV screens, online, at

bus stops and on billboards.

It affects what we think and how we drink, nudging us to drink

more and during more occasions.

But how does it reach us?

Why are current regulatory structures failing to deal with a growing problem?

Why does the World Health Organization recommend comprehensive bans on alcohol

marketing, and what can be done to protect the most vulnerable in society

from being bombarded by alcohol ads?

Behind alcohol marketing's glamorous promotions lie a number of major

concerns from health groups about the impact of alcohol marketing on

children and vulnerable groups, as well as how marketing creates and

sustains social norms that alcohol consumption is normal and desirable.

For decades, evidence has demonstrated a link between alcohol marketing

and young people's drinking.

Well, we have the most research on what the effects are on young people,

and here the evidence is clear.

We have numerous, uh, at least 26 at last count, longitudinal studies.

That have followed groups of young people over time, looked at their drinking and

their marketing exposure at baseline and at various points along the way.

What these studies have all tended to find is that the more exposed kids

are, the more likely they are to drink, or if already drinking to drink more.

And some of my public health colleagues applied what in public health in

epidemiology is known as The Bradford Hill criteria for determining

causality to this body of evidence.

They concluded that this alco this exposure to alcohol marketing actually has

a causal role in young people's drinking.

The other important thing that's happening is alcohol affects the brain.

And it affects it most in certain ways when it is under development.

So, the general finding from the public health literature has been, in terms

of young people and alcohol, we want to delay initiation as long as possible.

Alcohol marketing has the opposite effect.

The more exposed kids are, the more likely they are to initiate.

Although advertising codes prohibit targeting of minors, the ubiquity

of alcohol advertising means that children can hardly miss it.

A recent study found over 80 percent of 11 to 19 year olds in the UK recalled

exposure to alcohol marketing in the previous month and those with more

awareness of alcohol marketing were more likely to be higher risk drinkers.

There is also evidence that underage drinking and the likelihood of alcohol

problems in later life are closely related to positive expectations

of benefits from alcohol use.

Precisely the expectations that marketing is designed to encourage.

Product placement is particularly worrying with regards to targeting children, as

exposure to alcohol use in films and TV is linked to higher risk of alcohol

use and alcohol related problems.

Many reality TV shows, which are frequently watched by younger

audiences, contain alcohol imagery.

The growth in social media and digital marketing has led to a sea

change in recent decades regarding how alcohol companies advertise, with

growing concerns for public health.

Alcohol companies have formed alliances with social media giants, blurring the

lines between advertising and content.

By 2011, alcohol producer Diageo had announced that its partnership with

Facebook involved unprecedented levels of interaction and joint business planning.

Concerns aren't limited to social media, with algorithmic marketing and retargeting

presenting a real public health issue.

This marketing technique presents advertising to digital users based

on their interests such as what they interact with, the words they type,

and the content they sign up to.

This is particularly concerning for people in recovery who could be served

alcohol marketing after searching for phrases with the word alcohol in it.

Public health groups and regulators are often many steps behind the

alcohol and marketing industries.

Trying to play catch up with a fast evolving industry hidden behind targeted,

individualized digital marketing.

That is why a World Health Organization report in 2022 on cross border

marketing stated that there is a “need for more effective regulation”,

especially due to “young people and heavy drinkers being increasingly

targeted by alcohol advertising”.

It has also been shown that alcohol marketing can be a trigger for relapse,

with many people in recovery highlighting how it is impossible to avoid it.

So, the cues that we see in alcohol marketing that make all of us feel like we

want a drink or to think, “oh, that looks nice and tasty, nice and cold”,

they are much more vulnerable to that, much more responsive to it.

So, we see that from neuroimaging studies, parts of the brain are stimulated in

a different and more significant way in people who have had a drink problem or are

currently experiencing a drink problem.

But people who are in recovery tell us themselves about how much alcohol

marketing influences them, particularly in the early stages of recovery.

So people talk about the retail environment and how difficult it is even

to get the bare essentials of shopping,

without being confronted with large and attractive displays of alcohol.

Alcohol marketing also has a clear intersection with perceived

gender and gender norms.

Women around the world are targeted through a range of strategies such

as the creation of products aimed at women, using lifestyle messages

that reinforce gender stereotypes, offering feminine accessories,

and using messages of empowerment.

Alcohol brands present alcohol to women as essential to the various

social roles and contexts that they occupy in contemporary society.

So for example, alcohol use is presented as essential to

female friendship and bonding.

As a reward and a way to relax after a hard day parenting

or a hard day in the office.

As well as important to women's independence and sense of empowerment.

Gender stereotypes are also used and brands promote themselves

through connotations of appearance, beauty, as well as slimness.

And brands are increasingly promoted by focusing on the calorie content in

a way that might promote diet culture.

Now in recent years, brands have begun to move beyond the gender

binary of male and female to target a broader range of genders.

And this is important as it's a way for them to stay relevant within a society and

youth culture in which gender is regarded as much more than male and female.

And increasingly they're targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

Whether it be associations between alcohol use, beer and sports such

as football, the pinking of products to appeal to more traditionally

girly women, making associations between the consumption of brands and

relieving the stresses of motherhood, or endorsing events such as Pride.

Brands regularly use gender connotations to try to appeal

to and target the everyday lives and identities of consumers.

Marketing in the nighttime environment is often highly sexualised, using women's

bodies and sexualities, for example, through photographs of female patrons.

There are concerns that such content normalises the objectification

and sexualisation of women, and as a result, may impact on

attitudes towards and treatment of women within society as a whole.

For instance, encouraging unwanted sexual attention, male entitlement to

women's bodies, or even rape culture.

Now, whilst brands have moved away from objectification and sexualisation

due to a fear of alienating female consumers, venues seem to have

become particularly sexualised.

For example, sexualised entertainment is now the norm, such as, you know, the use

of shot girls, the use of podium dancers.

Now, this is all valid work, but it's essential that we ensure that women

working in these roles are safe when at work, and research I've conducted

found that many regard unwanted sexual attention from male customers as the norm.

Speaking to women who frequent and participate in these type of venues,

they suggested that sexualised marketing that objectifies and

sexualises women actually impacts on how safe they feel in nightlife venues.

Sports sponsorship is another area of contention.

Many high profile sporting events broadcast in the UK are

sponsored by alcohol brands.

So in football, the FA Cup, World Cup and Champions League, in rugby,

the World Cup and Six Nations, and in motor racing, Formula One.

There was a major sea change in alcohol, in the mid 20th

century, in Western countries.

Here in the US, the big change came when the tobacco company,

Philip Morris, bought Miller Beer.

In the mid 1970s, and they brought everything they learned about marketing

tobacco to the marketing of alcohol.

Suddenly, alcohol marketing was everywhere.

Prior to that, we didn't have alcohol being marketed in conjunction with

practically every sporting event.

But the story is that the head of Anheuser Busch, August Busch III,

took the book of 6,000 sporting events that happen in the US

each year, threw it across the table at his marketing people and said: “Buy this”.

High numbers of children will be exposed to alcohol sponsorship

while watching these events.

This has led to major medical and public health institutions in the UK calling

for a ban on alcohol sports sponsorship.

Bans are already in place in France and Norway and in 2018 the Republic of

Ireland introduced a law restricting alcohol advertising at sports events,

and sponsorship of driving or racing events.

Marketers use the connection people have with sports and sports teams

as a way to push their products.

So we're really emotionally invested in it

and that's what the marketers are

taking advantage of, is that heightened emotional state, that kind of,

connection to our teams and our players, but also simply the level of exposure.

I mean, there's barely a second of the match where it isn't visible.

There's something for me that's particularly inappropriate about

associating alcohol brands with elite sports, high

achievement, healthy lifestyles, because implicit in that is the

suggestion that alcohol is compatible with that kind of healthy lifestyle.

In terms of who is responsible for these harmful exposures, alcohol

companies are some of the biggest marketing spenders across the globe.

When we talk about alcohol marketing, we usually go to the basic language of

business and talk about the four P's.

What you're trying to do as a marketer is you're trying to get the right Product,

in the right Place, at the right Price, and then Promote it in the right way for

your target audience or audiences.

According to Advertising Age (Ad Age).

Six alcohol companies are among the 100 largest marketers in the world.

They spent a combined total of over $17 billion on marketing

activities in 2019.

And the function of this marketing is twofold.

First of all, they are selling images, they're selling fantasies.

But the second function of the marketing is these companies are

really large and in many markets, they are monopolies or oligopolies.

That is, there are very few of them and as such, they can control a lot of what

happens in the marketplace and extract oligopoly or monopoly level prices.

This enables them to be more profitable than they would be otherwise and the

estimate is that they're the 8th most profitable industry in the world.

More profitable than soda pop, slightly less profitable than tobacco.

They're highly profitable and that high marketing spend

functions as what economists refer to as a barrier to entry.

That is, it keeps other firms from being able to compete with them.

If you think about it, Anheuser Busch InBev is the largest

beer producer in the world.

Their cost of advertising per barrel of beer sold is going to be so much

lower than every competitor's because they sell so many more barrels of beer.

Some within the alcohol and advertising industries argue that alcohol

is a legal product and therefore it should be legal to advertise.

They argue that bans are not justified, as advertising is concerned with

promoting sales of individual brands.

One of the arguments in defense of alcohol marketing is that

it's just about brand switching.

It's really just educating people who are already drinking and helping

them decide which brand to drink.

Well, the first thing to realise about this industry is, like tobacco, every

year they lose their best customers.

They die from alcohol related causes.

They have to replace that customer base and marketing plays a key role in

the replacement of that customer base.

Alcohol marketing has also been framed as a human rights issue.

A comprehensive report by Alcohol Focus Scotland stated that: “There is an inherent

conflict between the commercial goals of businesses that sell unhealthy products

such as alcohol and the protection of the health of individuals and society.”

Approaching alcohol harm from a human rights perspective means recognising

that not only do people have a need to be protected from harmful alcohol marketing,

but they also have a right, and that these rights are enshrined in international law.

The report also highlights that countries often relinquish their responsibilities

to the detriment of public health.

For example, by delegating the regulation of alcohol marketing

to the alcohol industry.

Putting it bluntly, we've left the fox in charge of the hen house.

Self regulation means that those who make money out of alcohol marketing are the

people who are supposedly regulating it.

This system of co- and self-regulation, which, you know, even as somebody in

this field, I find endlessly complex and difficult to understand, nevermind

the public for whom, you know, it relies on a system of complaints.

So how the public are meant to navigate that, I don't know.

But fundamentally, this conflict of interest is at

the heart of self regulation.

We were talking about human rights earlier and the obligation on states

to protect and promote those rights.

It's completely inappropriate for states to rely on the marketing

industry or the producers themselves to design and implement a system

to control alcohol marketing.

Alcohol marketing in the UK is subject to various controls

that seek to prevent advertisers targeting and appealing to children.

The controls are primarily administered by the Advertising Standards Authority and

the alcohol industry funded Portman Group.

It's noticeable that bodies who are involved in this system of self

regulation, notably the Advertising Standards Authority and the Portman

Group, have been really out there trying to persuade decision

makers that the system is fit for purpose and trying to defend the status quo.

Even though the evidence base in terms of public health harm from alcohol

marketing has massively evolved over the last 10 years.

What we see is very much tinkering around the edges and no fundamental

shift to, or attempt to shift to,

a regime that prevents exposure rather than regulating

the content of adverts.

A report from Alcohol Change UK questioned whether the Portman Group's

Independent Complaints Panel process is fit for purpose, highlighting a

lack of consistency and objectivity of decision making, as well as poor

oversight and scrutiny of the panel.

One vivid example was the Portman Group's consideration of the

Diageo rum brand Captain Morgan.

The Portman Group were looking at a complaint to assess whether

the Captain Morgan character was a cartoon of a pirate, and would

therefore appeal to children.

The group's panel concluded that Captain Morgan was not a pirate.

A remarkable decision, considering the brand's own website presented the story

of Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, whose signature appears on some bottles.

The Portman Group panel decided that the rum brand did not breach their

code because of the lack of resemblance between Captain Morgan and an archetypal

pirate with a wooden leg and an eyepatch.

Some have pointed out that even following the Portman Group's code, children are

not protected from alcohol marketing.

In their sponsorship code, the group states that Prior to sponsoring

an event, team or activity, drinks companies must use their reasonable

endeavours to obtain data on the expected participants, audience or spectator

profile to ensure that at least the aggregate of 75 percent are aged over 18.

So even adhering to this standard, popular sporting events with audiences

of 2 million people would be fine to sponsor with alcohol if 500,000

members of the audience were children.

25 percent also over represents under 18s, who only make up around

20 percent of the UK population.

The recommendations to improve the system and reduce harm are clear.

In 2017, the World Health Organization published their Best Buys of the most

cost effective recommended interventions to reduce harmful alcohol use.

This included a recommendation to enact and enforce bans or

comprehensive restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising

across multiple types of media.

It's really simple and basic in terms of what would be most

effective for mitigating the effects of alcohol marketing.

The answer is get rid of it.

A total ban is clearly the most effective thing.

Short of that, what you're dealing with is the marketing bubble, where if

you push one part of that bubble

with some kind of regulation, the industry will simply shift its

spending to another area and the bubble will, will push out over there.

Alcohol Focus Scotland, which has been at the forefront of assessing

alcohol marketing concerns, calls for the development of an international

framework convention on alcohol control, within which a transnational

approach to regulating digital alcohol marketing should be included.

It transcends national borders.

We need international regulation of digital marketing.

And ideally, we would have something like the Framework Convention on

Tobacco Control that goes broader than marketing, but sets expectations around

how alcohol is sold across the world.

Alcohol marketing promotes and creates an environment that

normalises the consumption of alcohol.

This establishes and reinforces expectations around alcohol use as being

positive, aspirational, normal, and even as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Although many other products are promoted in a similar way, few

others kill over 3 million people across the world every year.

Alcohol industry voices criticise the idea of marketing restrictions as being

disproportionate, and inhibiting consumers ability to make informed choices.

However, being constantly bombarded with alcohol marketing influences

people's decision making, increasing their likelihood of drinking, and

of drinking particular products.

This can therefore work to restrict and remove a person's choice,

rather than helping them choose.

It also targets certain groups such as women and sexual and gender minorities,

and represents these groups in ways that can reinforce stereotypes.

By taking action on alcohol marketing, governments can help

reduce alcohol consumption and harm.

This is in keeping with their obligations under international law to protect

and promote people's right to health.

For more information on this topic, check out the briefings on our website.