A new briefing from Alcohol Concern, 'Drink responsibly (but please keep drinking)' [pdf], says that alcohol industry 'responsible drinking' messages do little or nothing to help reduce alcohol harms, and may be used to further promotion of brands, or give the impression of corporate social responsibility.
Alcohol Concern Cymru studied a sample of supermarket magazines and found that although 90% of alcohol promotional material included mention of Drinkaware, only 36% included any specific 'drink responsibly' message.
Even then, Alcohol Concern say 'drink responsibly' messages are dubious, for instance are open to wide interpretation and have no clear bearing to the recommended guidelines. Messages or Drinkaware links were typically small and sometimes appeared to contradict the main message of the advert.
The briefing states:
Rather than promote moderation, then, it is argued that responsible drinking messages in alcohol advertising are used by the industry for three main purposes: a means to frame the debate around alcohol-related problems, an opportunity to promote their brands, and a chance to create a socially responsible image.
The briefing is also critical of wider policies over alcohol advertising regulation and industry practices, as well Government failure to implement "evidence-based policies around price and availability" instead of promoting "education and personal responsibility as the solution to alcohol problems in society." It argues that the industry deliberatly frame alcohol problems around a minority of irresponsible drinkers, rather than the role of the products or environment in which they are available.
Questioning the current focus of industry activity, it states:
It may be that the inclusion of the Drinkaware website address, recommended as best practice by the Portman Group and which was present in 90% of the total alcohol adverts and advertorials analysed, is viewed by alcohol companies as sufficient to fulfil their voluntary obligations to promote responsible consumption. However, one can argue that referencing an educational website hardly constitutes pulling out all the stops to make, as one leading drinks company ABInBev puts it, responsible drinking “a fundamental part of our dream to be the Best Beer Company bringing people together for a Better World.”
Alcohol Concern have frequently campaigned for more protection of children from alcohol advertising and availability. However the Portman Group continue to highlight voluntary regulation and claimed successes through and the Responsibility Deal, such as the unit reduction pledge. Meanwhile Drinkaware have been seeking to convince the public health community that its activities are effective following a 'mixed' independent review in 2012.
Alcohol Concern's report makes 3 recommendations:
- Current “drink responsibly” messages found in alcohol advertising should be replaced with factual health warnings appropriate to the product being advertised and/or the publication or platform in which it will most frequently appear
- These health warnings must appear in larger type and be placed in a more central position than the drink responsibly messages found in the alcohol advertising reviewed in this study
- There needs to be a fundamental shift in how alcohol is advertised, whereby images appearing in alcohol advertising should refer only to the characteristics of the product’s strength, origin, composition and means of production; promotion of ‘lifestyle’ images of drinkers should be prohibited
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