Alcohol is marketed through increasingly sophisticated advertising and promotion techniques which include linking alcohol brands to sports and cultural activities, sponsorships and product placements, and new marketing techniques (e.g. emails, text messaging, podcasts, social media and other communication techniques). The transmission of alcohol marketing messages across national borders and different jurisdictions via channels such as satellite television and the Internet is emerging as a serious concern in some countries.

Advertising restrictions have been assessed as a highly  cost-effective best-buy  intervention for NCD prevention. Because they generally cost little to implement, and since they can influence the initiation of alcohol use and risk behaviour at population level, advertising bans and significant restrictions have the potential to be substantially more  effective  than  more  labour-intensive  interventions  that seek  to prevent or reduce alcohol use at  the individual level.

The purposes of bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship are:

• to prevent young people from being exposed (which is known to influence the decision to start consuming alcohol and to increase  alcohol use);
• to reduce the presence of alcohol cues that can induce reactivity and craving in alcohol-dependent persons; and
• to prevent industry influence on social norms relating to consumption in general, given the negative public health, economic and social consequences of alcohol use.

How to do it?

The global alcohol strategy recommends considering a precautionary approach to protecting young people against these marketing techniques. Further, the political declaration of the 2018 United Nations third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs invites the private sector to take concrete steps towards eliminating the marketing and advertising of alcoholic products to minors.

Restricting only one aspect of the marketing mix often results in an expansion of activity in other parts of the mix. In general, the more complete the regulation on marketing activities, the easier it  will be to implement the regulation and the more effective it will be in reducing alcohol-related harm. That is why a comprehensive ban or set of restrictions is preferred.

Such frameworks should ideally incorporate all forms of new and emerging media as well as existing media and other promotional channels. The rapid pace of marketing innovation renders such comprehensive frameworks open to review and updates by regulatory bodies as new technologies and products evolve. Marketing of all types of alcoholic beverages should be regulated equally in all types of media.

Total bans are cost-effective and inexpensive to implement. They require fewer infrastructure for enforcement since violations are likely to be obvious, easy to identify and easy to sanction. The biggest barrier to enforcement is likely to be advertising that crosses national borders, for instance via television or the Internet.

Content restrictions can establish important principles for what is and is not acceptable in alcohol marketing communications There is little disagreement that alcohol marketing communications should not target young people, should be in keeping with national and cultural standards of decency, and should avoid making health, curative or other claims for alcohol. It is common for marketing strategies to include messages related to “responsible or moderate drinking” or a form of health warning prepared by the alcohol industry. These messages are often vague and/or deceptive and should be developed and regulated by the government instead.

Surrogate marketing occurs when companies use products other than alcohol to build alcohol brand familiarity and loyalty among consumers. This has become common in the tobacco industry: as bans on tobacco advertising have proliferated, so have clothing stores and even travel services bearing tobacco brand names. Countries seeking to restrict this kind of activity should look at the tobacco experience for models of how this has been done for tobacco branded products and activities.

Whom to work with?

The Ministry of Health is the most important government stakeholder because it is responsible for ensuring that public health objectives are integrated into all efforts to regulate alcohol marketing. The health ministry’s main partners are the ministries responsible for regulating commercial communications through broadcast media, non-broadcast media and telecommunications, including the Internet. In addition, the ministries responsible for culture, sports and children may need to be involved. To ensure that all forms of marketing are covered and that no marketing medium escapes regulation, it may be beneficial to establish a permanent task force to review and monitor the relevant regulations.

Other stakeholders include any bodies established by the government to oversee and monitor advertising standards. Again, if different bodies oversee different media, an overall task force is needed.

Alcohol producers, retailers and the marketing industry are normally consulted when the government makes changes in alcohol marketing regulations and practices. However, the published record indicates that, in general, these industry bodies do not support tighter statutory restrictions on marketing practices.