Current laws 'not protecting children from exposure to alcohol marketing'
Alcohol Action Ireland has demanded a change to the laws regulating alcohol marketing, calling it “a child protection issue”.
The national charity for alcohol-related issues commissioned a study which found that found that more than 90% of children reported that they were exposed to traditional, or offline, alcohol advertisements in the week prior to the study.
More than half of respondents to the study, conducted by the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway, saw four or more alcohol advertisements per day.
Some 77% of children reported exposure to alcohol marketing online, with 61% reporting that they owned alcohol branded merchandise.
Dr Michal Molcho, of the Health Promotion Research Centre at NUI Galway, said their findings indicate that there is widespread exposure to alcohol marketing among children aged 13 and upward.
He added that increased exposure to alcohol marketing increased the chances of children to report drinking, binge drinking, and drunkenness.
“These findings clearly indicate that the more intense the exposure, the greater the risk of drinking alcohol and engaging in risky drinking behaviours,” he said.
“Given that these findings echo previous studies, coupled with the vulnerability of young people to alcohol, there is a clear need for immediate action on alcohol marketing regulation.”
Dr Patrick Kenny, from the School of Marketing at Dublin Institute of Technology, said the study provides a snapshot illustrating “how little protection is currently afforded to Irish children from alcohol marketing”.
“The bottom line is that the current regulatory system does not protect children from exposure to alcohol marketing and this failure is associated with increased consumption,” he said.
“In a very real sense, these children are victims of society’s failure to protect them and creating an environment where children are free from alcohol marketing is a children’s rights issue that requires immediate attention.”
Dr Kenny said that digital alcohol marketing, and in particular social media marketing, is now a central element of the marketing communications mix and needs to be regulated.
“Digital marketing allows for more effective targeting of consumers and the interactive nature of this communication makes it arguably more effective than traditional passive advertising methods,” he said.
“It is worth noting that digital marketing operates largely below the radar of policy makers because they do not form part of the target audience, thus making digital marketing significantly harder to monitor or regulate.”
Conor Cullen, Head of Communications and Advocacy, Alcohol Action Ireland, said it is vital that we legislate to regulate alcohol marketing, which sees Irish children continuously exposed to positive, risk-free images of alcohol and its use, which are far removed from the reality of the situation.
“The forthcoming Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is an important first step in this regard and will finally move us away from the existing systems of self-regulation governing alcohol marketing,” he said.
“These systems have proved completely ineffective in terms of protecting children from exposure to alcohol marketing, which is such a powerful and sophisticated influence on their drinking behaviour and expectations.”
