By Helen Mooney
9 September 2009
The marketing and advertising of alcohol should be banned as part of the battle to reduce binge-drinking by young people, according to the British Medical Association.
In a hard-hitting report, Under the influence, published on September 8, the doctors’ representative organisation called for a crackdown on advertising and an end to cut-price deals in a bid to halt rising levels of consumption and tackle alcohol misuse.
The BMA called for the ban to extend to sports and music sponsorship and for an end to all promotional deals such as happy hours, two-for-one purchases and ladies’ free-entry nights.
The cost to the NHS of treating the adverse effects of alcohol has been estimated at up to £3bn a year.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of the BMA’s Science and Ethics committee, said: ‘Over the centuries alcohol has become established as the country’s favourite drug. The reality is that young people are drinking more because the whole population is drinking more and our society is awash with pro-alcohol messaging and marketing.’
She added: ‘The BMA is not anti-alcohol. As doctors, our focus is to ensure that individuals drink sensibly so they do not put their health and lives in danger.’
Don Shenker, chief executive of campaign group Alcohol Concern, said the report confirmed the extent of the problem. ‘The heavy marketing and promotion of alcohol, combined with low prices, are encouraging young people to drink at a level our health services are struggling to cope with.’
The report said half of children aged 11-16 have drunk alcohol, and 96% of 13-year-olds were aware of alcohol advertising. The alcohol industry spends £800m a year on promoting its products, with direct advertising accounting for only a quarter of that sum.
But David Poley, chief executive of drinks industry trade body the Portman Group, argued that the effectiveness of its own regulatory work had been recognised by independent and authoritative bodies.
‘Despite this, doctors dismiss out of hand these strict controls,’ he said. ‘The BMA is ignoring all the evidence that advertising causes brand switching, not harmful drinking. A ban would not improve our drinking culture and could even be counter-productive.’
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the government had already made substantial progress in tackling the problem. ‘We're working harder than ever to reduce alcohol harm – but it's not always right to legislate. We take all evidence into account and react proportionately.’
9 September 2009
The marketing and advertising of alcohol should be banned as part of the battle to reduce binge-drinking by young people, according to the British Medical Association.
In a hard-hitting report, Under the influence, published on September 8, the doctors’ representative organisation called for a crackdown on advertising and an end to cut-price deals in a bid to halt rising levels of consumption and tackle alcohol misuse.
The BMA called for the ban to extend to sports and music sponsorship and for an end to all promotional deals such as happy hours, two-for-one purchases and ladies’ free-entry nights.
The cost to the NHS of treating the adverse effects of alcohol has been estimated at up to £3bn a year.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of the BMA’s Science and Ethics committee, said: ‘Over the centuries alcohol has become established as the country’s favourite drug. The reality is that young people are drinking more because the whole population is drinking more and our society is awash with pro-alcohol messaging and marketing.’
She added: ‘The BMA is not anti-alcohol. As doctors, our focus is to ensure that individuals drink sensibly so they do not put their health and lives in danger.’
Don Shenker, chief executive of campaign group Alcohol Concern, said the report confirmed the extent of the problem. ‘The heavy marketing and promotion of alcohol, combined with low prices, are encouraging young people to drink at a level our health services are struggling to cope with.’
The report said half of children aged 11-16 have drunk alcohol, and 96% of 13-year-olds were aware of alcohol advertising. The alcohol industry spends £800m a year on promoting its products, with direct advertising accounting for only a quarter of that sum.
But David Poley, chief executive of drinks industry trade body the Portman Group, argued that the effectiveness of its own regulatory work had been recognised by independent and authoritative bodies.
‘Despite this, doctors dismiss out of hand these strict controls,’ he said. ‘The BMA is ignoring all the evidence that advertising causes brand switching, not harmful drinking. A ban would not improve our drinking culture and could even be counter-productive.’
A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the government had already made substantial progress in tackling the problem. ‘We're working harder than ever to reduce alcohol harm – but it's not always right to legislate. We take all evidence into account and react proportionately.’
