Alcohol marketing and youth

Transcription

1 Alcohol marketing and youth Sven Andréasson, MD Karolinska institutet Forte seminar Aug 22, 2014

2 Take home message The same alcohol availability reduction strategies that are effective for the adult population largely are effective for reducing alcohol problems among young people as well Alcohol taxes/prices Retail monopoly Impaired driving laws and enforcement Reduce access for young people Enforce age limits Reduce social availability: family, friends Restrict alcohol marketing

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4 Recognize industry conflict of interest Abusive consumption, which industry says it does not want, is bulk of market Expect that industry will do its job to promote its products and seek to grow its market

5 Increase in alcoholic beverage marketing in Sweden 5

6 Alcohol marketing and young people Alcohol marketing reaches young people: TV commercials Event sponsoring Give away promotional items Sponsoring and advertising social media

7 L.B. Snyder, F.F. Milici, M. Slater, H. Sun, and Y. Strizhakova, "Effects of Alcohol Advertising Exposure on Drinking Among Youth," Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 160 (2006): This US study published in January 2006 concludes that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in drinking among underage youth. Specifically, for each additional ad a young person saw (above the monthly youth average of 23), he or she drank 1% more. For each additional dollar per capita spent on alcohol advertising in a local market (above the national average of $6.80 per capita), young people drank 3% more.

8 Substantial shortcomings are found in the studies, which preclude a causal interpretation

9 23 European countries: 71 regulations 45 statutory 26 self regulation codes Content restrictions Volume restrictions

10 Content restrictions Most European alcohol marketing regulations use a vague definition when restricting the content of alcohol marketing, Eg marketing may not be aimed specifically at minors generally ineffective What is needed: limit all elements that young people find appealing. lifestyle images and youth culture elements games Music humour celebrities Cartoons sexual contents

11 Volume restrictions Where and when marketing occurs Aim: reduce exposure for youth Time restrictions Place restrictions From total ban to detailed restrictions in times when TV commercials are allowed

12 Self regulation has been proven insufficient Australia the Netherlands The UK the US Self regulation codes are written by the alcohol industry: content restrictions ambiguous and open to interpretation do not prevent young people from being exposed to large volumes of attractive alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship For self regulation to be effective a number of conditions are required: Legally binding restrictions An independent body for oversight and evaluation Strong sanctions Transparent and simple system for reporting violations Total ban more efficient

13 Adolescents in the UK and the Netherlands were more likely than adults to be exposed to alcohol advertising on television. In Germany adolescents had a lower exposure to alcohol adverts than adults. Social media case studies of a selection of alcohol brands showed that these all have considerable online media presence featuring both marketer generated and user generated content. Use of age verification mechanisms to restrict access to alcohol related content are used by alcohol marketers and social media providers but their effectiveness remains uncertain. There is a need to better understand the relationship between national frameworks influencing programming and advertising behaviours and their impact on youth exposure to alcohol advertising.

14 Scientific Opinion of the Science Group of the European Alcohol and Health Forum 2009 Conclusion Does marketing communication impact on the volume and patterns of consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially by young people? a review of longitudinal studies Two peer reviewed systematic reviews of longitudinal studies 1. Smith & Foxcroft 2009; The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behaviour in young people: systematic review of prospective cohort studies BMC Public Health Feb 6;9:51 2. Anderson et al. 2009; Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism 2009 May Jun;44(3):

15 Science Group conclusions The reviews identified 13 longitudinal studies that investigated the impact of marketing communications on initiation and continuation of alcohol use amongst 38,000 young people aged years drawn from the United States (9 studies), New Zealand (1 study), Belgium (1 study) and Germany (1 study). Based on the consistency of findings across the studies, the confounders controlled for, the dose response relationships, as well as the theoretical plausibility and experimental findings regarding the impact of media exposure and commercial communications, it can be concluded from the studies reviewed that alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that adolescents will start to use alcohol, and to drink more if they are already using alcohol.

16 The Gourmet case In 2002 the journal Gourmet published an ad for alcohol the Consumer ombudsman took Gourmet to the Stockholm district court which in turn consulted the European Court of Justice The EU court however left this decision to the Stockholm District Court. The District Court decided that the ban on advertisements was too far reaching. This led the Consumer ombudsman to appeal to the Swedish Market Court. The Market Court rejected the appeal and upheld the decision of the District Court. In their opinion there were other more effective measures to limit alcohol related problems than bans against marketing.

17 France: Loi Evin Alcohol marketing on television, radio and cinema and sports sponsorship banned 1991 in France; law called Loi Evan EU court verdict in 2004 after the Swedish Market Court decision decided that this law was compatible with the EU treatise as it was motivated by Public Health. Alcohol marketing in other media may only contain product information; all advertising must include a health warning.

18 Now time for reviewing alcohol marketing in Sweden The Market Court decision in 2002 not supported by research Several cases in the EU where bans have been upheld, most notably: France: Loi Evan Norway: total ban upheld

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