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Industry Self-regulation of Alcohol Marketing: A Systematic Review of Content and Exposure Research: Systematic Review of Alcohol Ad Content
Abstract
Background and aims:
With governments increasingly relying on the alcohol industry's self-regulated marketing codes to restrict alcohol marketing activity, there is a need to summarize the findings of research relevant to alcohol marketing controls. This paper provides a systematic review of studies investigating the content of, and exposure to, alcohol marketing in relation to self-regulated guidelines.
Methods:
Peer-reviewed articles were identified through four literature search engines: SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, and PsychINFO. Non-peer reviewed reports produced by public health agencies, alcohol research centers, non-governmental organizations, and government research centers were also identified. 96 publications met the inclusion criteria.
Results:
Of the 19 studies evaluating a specific marketing code and 25 content analysis studies reviewed, all detected content that could be considered potentially harmful to children and adolescents, including themes that strongly appeal to young men. Of the 57 studies of alcohol advertising exposure, high levels of youth exposure and high awareness of alcohol advertising were found for television, radio, print, digital, and outdoor ads. Youth exposure to alcohol advertising has increased over time, even as greater compliance with exposure thresholds has been documented.
Conclusions:
Violations of the content guidelines within self-regulated alcohol marketing codes are highly prevalent in certain media. Exposure to alcohol marketing, particularly among youth, is also prevalent. Taken together, the findings suggest that the current self-regulatory systems that govern alcohol marketing practices are not meeting their intended goal of protecting vulnerable populations.
... Noel et al. conducted a systematic review of industry self-regulation [27]. Their review demonstrated that alcohol advertisements consistently violated the content guidelines of alcohol marketing self-regulatory codes, and contained themes that could be considered inappropriate for children, adolescents and other vulnerable populations, with little variation across time. ...
... Regulations on advertising and marketing of alcoholic beverages are recognised as a best-buy by the World Health Organization [6]. Despite this recognition, the alcohol industry often claims that self-regulation is the best approach [27]; however, Noel and Babor identified the limitations of this option, namely conflicts of interest of industry adjudicators, and the potential for industry adjudicators to be inadequately trained [28]. The alcohol industry often shows a high degree of collaboration in political strategy development between companies, seeking various ways to avoid the more effective policies and regulations. ...
... The current systems of self-regulation require major modifications if they are to serve public health objectives, and more systematic evaluations of complaint processes are also needed. Indeed, the ineffectiveness of self-regulation of alcohol marketing and advertising has been demonstrated in multiple countries [27,28,46]. Monitoring of alcohol marketing practices should be the responsibility of an independent body or a government agency, and should be performed systematically and routinely [47]. ...
Issues
Advertising and marketing affect alcohol use; however, no single systematic review has covered all aspects of how they affect alcohol use, and how the alcohol industry views alcohol marketing restrictions.
Approach
Two systematic reviews of reviews were performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items on 2 February 2023. Results were analysed using a narrative synthesis approach.
Key Findings
Twenty‐three reviews were included in the systematic reviews. The first systematic review examined youth and adolescents (11 reviews), digital or internet marketing (3 reviews), alcohol marketing's impact on cognition (3 reviews), and alcohol marketing and policy options (2 reviews). The second systematic review focused on alcohol industry (i.e., importers, producers, distributors, retailers and advertising firms) response to advertising restrictions (four reviews). The reviews indicated that there is evidence that alcohol marketing (including digital marketing) is associated with increased intentions to drink, levels of consumption and harmful drinking among youth and young adults. Studies on cognition indicate that advertisements focusing on appealing contexts and outcomes may be more readily accepted by adolescents, and may be less easily extinguished in this population. The review of the alcohol industry found a strong desire to self‐regulate alcohol advertising.
Implications
We found alcohol advertising and marketing is associated with increased drinking intentions, consumption and harmful drinking. Thus, policies which restrict advertising may be an effective way to reduce alcohol use.
Conclusion
More research is needed to assess all aspects of the observed associations, especially as to how marketing policies impact women and people with alcohol dependence.
... social acceptance, sexual appeal, or success) . While there hasn't been much research evaluating the effectiveness of alcohol advertising restrictions in Canada, studies from other countries with similar restrictions have found them to be ineffective at limiting alcohol advertising with youth-appealing content (Jones et al. 2009;Noel et al. 2017). A major shortcoming of these restrictions is that they limit advertising deemed "primarily" directed to minors. ...
... This, in effect, allows advertisers to use content and themes that appeal to youth (e.g. partying, sexuality, humor) so long as their advertising does not blatantly target minors (Noel et al. 2017;Padon et al. 2018). Considering that most alcohol advertisements identified in this study stemmed from multinational companies that control the marketing of their brands globally (Jernigan and Ross 2020), the widespread use of youth-appealing themes in alcohol ads observed in other countries is likely indicative of alcohol advertising content on television and in other media in Canada. ...
... To protect young people from the influence of harmful advertising, it has been recognized that comprehensive policies that limit their exposure as much as possible would be most effective (World Health Organization 2023). On television, such a measure could involve restricting all alcohol advertising on television during the period when children and youth are known to be watching (Noel et al. 2017). ...
Aims
Alcohol marketing is a commercial driver of alcohol use, including among youth. This study sought to quantify and characterize alcohol advertising on broadcast television in Canada.
Methods
Open-source television program logs for January to December 2018 submitted to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission by 147 stations with alcohol advertisements were analyzed.
Results
Overall, 501 628 alcohol advertisements were broadcast. Four companies accounted for 83% of advertisements, namely, Anheuser-Busch in Bev (33.7%), Molson Coors (22.7%), Diageo (16.1%), and Arterra Wines Canada (10.8%). On conventional stations, advertising was highest on French-language stations [Median (Mdn) = 3224; interquartile range (IQR) = 2262] followed by those with programming in foreign/mixed languages (Mdn = 2679; IQR = 219) and English-language stations (Mdn = 1955; IQR = 1563). On speciality stations, advertising was most frequent on those primarily focused on sports programming (Mdn = 8036; IQR = 7393), movies and scripted shows (Mdn = 7463; IQR = 5937), and cooking (Mdn = 5498; IQR = 4032). On weekdays, 33% of alcohol ads aired from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 9 p.m. and on weekends, 52% aired from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. when children or adolescents are more likely to be watching television. On youth-oriented stations (n = 4), 7937 alcohol advertisements were broadcast with most airing from 9 p.m. to midnight (44–45%) or 12–6 a.m. (50%) on both weekdays and weekends.
Conclusions
While few alcohol advertisements were broadcast on youth-oriented stations, young people in Canada are likely exposed to such advertising on programming intended for older or general audiences (e.g. sports). More research is needed to ascertain the extent to which broadcast television constitutes a source of alcohol advertising exposure among youth and to inform policies aimed at protecting them from the influence of such exposure.
... De studies lieten zien dat TV advertenties richtlijnen schonden in 12-86% van de gevallen (voor magazines was dit: 0-52%), en 1 studie liet zien dat 74.1% van digitale marketing in strijd was met richtlijnen. De meest overschreden codes waren richtlijnen die bedoeld waren om jongeren te beschermen en associaties tussen alcohol en sociaal of seksueel succes (Noel et al., 2017b;p31). ...
... In ditzelfde review paper is ook gekeken naar de inhoud van alcoholreclames los van reclamecodes. Op basis van 25 studies in 16 verschillende landen stellen Noel et al. (2017b) dat: -Humor, ontspanning en vriendschap thema's zijn die vaak aan bod komen (zoals in magazines en TV reclames in de VS) -Veel onderzoeken stellen dat de inhoud van alcohol advertising aantrekkelijk is voor jongeren. Zo wordt gevonden dat adverteren in de publieke buitenruimte in de buurt van scholen content heeft die gericht is op jongeren (cartoons en dieren), dat 62% van de advertenties in Ierland aantrekkelijk waren voor jongeren waarvoor ze woorden hadden als "grappig, slim, goedkoop, en aantrekkelijk". ...
... Zo wordt gevonden dat adverteren in de publieke buitenruimte in de buurt van scholen content heeft die gericht is op jongeren (cartoons en dieren), dat 62% van de advertenties in Ierland aantrekkelijk waren voor jongeren waarvoor ze woorden hadden als "grappig, slim, goedkoop, en aantrekkelijk". En tot slot benoemen Noel et al. (2017b) ook specifiek dat dit ook voor Nederland geldt: "Youth appeal has also been documented in advertisements collected in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy" Cranwell en collega's (2017) ...
In het kader van het Nationaal Preventieakkoord (2018), is met behulp van systematisch literatuuronderzoek en vier focusgroepen de huidige kennis over de omvang en gevolgen van alcoholmarketing in kaart gebracht. Vervolgens zijn kennislacunes vastgesteld.
(Zie verder: https://research.utwente.nl/en/publications/kennissynthese-alcoholmarketing-literatuuronderzoek-naar-de-impac)
... While industry opposition to population-level measures regulating pricing [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and marketing [28,[41][42][43][44][45][46] has been the most studied to date, researchers have paid less attention to how alcohol industry actors have portrayed AHWLs (for an exception, see [14]). Further research is needed to explore the consistency and adaptation of the alcohol industry's political strategies. ...
... Public health researchers have extensively studied the alcohol industry and its political activities, documenting the industry's resistance to population-level measures regulating marketing [28,[41][42][43][44][45][46], pricing [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40], and availability [47,52]. These studies have helped inform broader conceptual frameworks [53,54], including the Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH) framework [55]. ...
Background
Building on the success of tobacco health warning labels, EU Member States and institutions are increasingly considering similar requirements for alcohol products. While industry responses to pricing and availability policies have been widely studied, their framing of Alcohol Health Warning Labels (AHWLs) as a policy solution remains comparatively underexplored. This paper examines how alcohol industry stakeholders responded to the EU notification process for Ireland’s proposed alcohol labelling regulations, introduced under Ireland’s Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018.
Methods
This paper analyses 16 submissions from alcohol industry actors to the European Commission regarding Ireland’s proposed alcohol warning label regulations. Qualitative methods, specifically thematic analysis, were used to examine industry arguments. The research team first reviewed five submissions to inductively develop a codebook, which was then applied to the remaining submissions, with new codes added as necessary. Two team members independently coded each submission, and thematic content was refined through team discussion.
Results
Alcohol industry arguments against AHWLs fall into four main themes: lack of evidence supporting the content of health warning labels and their broader use, negative trade and economic impacts of AHWLs, potential risks to EU governance posed by Ireland’s labels, and the industry’s self-positioning as responsible actors committed to public health. In addition, we identify novel industry strategies related to the intricacies of AHWLs, including a heightened focus on wording and language, coordination of activities across multiple governance levels, and tailored framing to suit the institutional context.
Conclusions
Alcohol industry actors employ arguments similar to those seen in other policy debates, which continue to pose a significant barrier to evidence-based alcohol policymaking. The analysis suggests that industry actors can strategically adapt their arguments to varying institutional settings and policy instruments, demonstrating their political dexterity and reinforcing the barriers to policy progress. These findings highlight the need for further research into the alcohol industry’s influence and provide insights for jurisdictions considering labelling legislation.
... Overall, it reinforces the conclusions of the 2021 analysis of European disclosure systems, that "self-regulation cannot address 'the issues of perceived conflict of interest', as promised by EFPIA" [22]. The shortcomings of self-regulation found here reflect issues with self-regulation generally, which can be seen in other areas of the pharmaceutical industry [50,51] and other industries including alcohol [52] and nutrition [53]. For example, a 2016 systematic review found that violations of self-regulation guidelines for alcohol marketing were 'highly prevalent' [52]. ...
... The shortcomings of self-regulation found here reflect issues with self-regulation generally, which can be seen in other areas of the pharmaceutical industry [50,51] and other industries including alcohol [52] and nutrition [53]. For example, a 2016 systematic review found that violations of self-regulation guidelines for alcohol marketing were 'highly prevalent' [52]. ...
... Across media modalities, the regulations and trends specific to any one substance likely implicate the others. For example, alcohol marketing (including product placements in movies) is self-regulated (Noel et al., 2017), which is not effective in minimizing exposures to youth (Noel et al., 2017). Cannabis, on the other hand, is subject to more complicated regulations due to its status as a schedule I drug nationally and variable legal status across states, largely limiting marketing to specific conditions on social media or situations in which content will not cross state lines (Whitehill et al., 2020;Moreno et al., 2023;Berg et al., 2023). ...
... Across media modalities, the regulations and trends specific to any one substance likely implicate the others. For example, alcohol marketing (including product placements in movies) is self-regulated (Noel et al., 2017), which is not effective in minimizing exposures to youth (Noel et al., 2017). Cannabis, on the other hand, is subject to more complicated regulations due to its status as a schedule I drug nationally and variable legal status across states, largely limiting marketing to specific conditions on social media or situations in which content will not cross state lines (Whitehill et al., 2020;Moreno et al., 2023;Berg et al., 2023). ...
Objective
Alcohol is the most frequently depicted substance in the media, and adolescent exposure to alcohol in the media predicts alcohol use. There is relatively little research on exposure to cannabis in the media, but exposure to alcohol content may exert cross-substance effects on cannabis use. Given the social and health risks associated with early cannabis use, the present study aims to assess the cross-substance effects of exposure to alcohol media content on age of cannabis initiation.
Method
A sample of 830 middle school students (53% female) reported on movie alcohol exposure and cannabis initiation longitudinally until high school completion. Discrete-time survival models examined whether movie alcohol exposure predicted subsequent initiation among students who were cannabis-naïve at baseline, controlling for demographic, social, and behavioral covariates. The interaction between sex and movie alcohol exposure was also explored.
Results
One third (33%) of participants reported cannabis initiation with a mean of 5.57 estimated hours (SD = 4.29) of movie alcohol exposure. A 1-hour increase in movie exposure predicted a significant 16% increased probability of cannabis initiation in models adjusted for demographic variables and a significant 14% increase in models adjusted for demographic, behavioral, and social variables. No differences were observed across sex.
Conclusions
Greater adolescent exposure to alcohol content in the media was associated with earlier cannabis initiation above and beyond other etiologically relevant demographic, behavioral, and social variables. The influence of cross-substance media exposures warrants further exploration and should be taken into consideration in the development of preventive interventions for youth substance use.
... Some states have policies modeled after the alcohol industry's voluntary code, which prohibits companies from advertising in outlets (i.e., on television, radio, print, web) where > 30% of the audience can be "reasonably" expected to be < 21 years old [19,20], which could apply to social media based marketing. However, this standard is criticized by policymakers and researchers [20], as those ages 12-20 comprise ~ 15% of the US population [21], and thus could overrepresent audiences of outlets where < 30% are < 21 years old. Moreover, the alcohol literature suggests that such policies are ineffective at shielding youth from viewing or interacting with alcoholrelated content [21,22]. ...
... However, this standard is criticized by policymakers and researchers [20], as those ages 12-20 comprise ~ 15% of the US population [21], and thus could overrepresent audiences of outlets where < 30% are < 21 years old. Moreover, the alcohol literature suggests that such policies are ineffective at shielding youth from viewing or interacting with alcoholrelated content [21,22]. ...
Background
Cannabis marketing exposure via social media may impact use in youth and young adults. Most states with recreational cannabis lack policies regarding social media-based marketing. Thus, we examined such policies among prominent platforms, particularly those popular among youth and young adults.
Methods
In September-October 2022, 3 research team members extracted policies applying to the general community, advertising, and any specific content regarding drug-related content for 11 social media sites: Discord, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. Using inductive thematic analysis, they then dual-coded restrictions on cannabis-related content (e.g., paid advertising, unpaid promotion, sales). Descriptive analyses were conducted.
Results
Ten (all except TikTok) referenced cannabis/marijuana, 7 (all except Discord, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) distinguished different cannabis-derived products, and 5 (Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter) noted jurisdictional differences in cannabis regulations/legality. All prohibited sales, 9 (all except Snapchat and Tumblr) prohibited paid advertising, and 4 (Discord, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok) prohibited unpaid promotion (e.g., user-generated content). All restricted underage access to cannabis-related content. However, policies varied and were ambiguous regarding how “promotion” was defined, whether/how jurisdictional differences in legality were addressed, how businesses may interact on social media, barriers implemented to inhibit the facilitation of sales, and enforcement protocols.
Conclusions
Social media policies regarding cannabis marketing are ambiguous and may facilitate cannabis marketing, promotion, sales, and underage exposure, thus compounding concerns regarding insufficient governmental regulations. Greater specificity in social media cannabis-related policies and enforcement is needed.
... In short, evidence shows that self-regulation does not work for improving health. 10,11 Corporate tactics and regulation ...
In the Prevention Pillar of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP), the European Commission made a series of commitments to promote better health for all, including proposals for new legislation on food and alcohol labelling. However, the implementation of these commitments has been paralysed. In this Viewpoint, we argue that this paralysis stems, in part at least, from insufficient incorporation of the principles of transparency and openness, which promote the accountability of policy actors through citizens' participation in the legislative process. This has led to a twofold problem: 1) the misplaced belief in the contribution that self-regulation can make to the promotion of healthier environments; and 2) the failure to adopt effective legally binding measures to regulate the commercial determinants of health, as the failure to publish the suite of legislative proposals promised in the EBCP epitomises.
... That is, for the subgroups 'drunk driving' and 'age limits' the original questions were not sensitive enough to record more subtle policy changes and were therefore broadened. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests a negligible effect of selfregulation in alcohol marketing [25] and we therefore omitted the question related to this topic. Last, the excise taxation subgroup was revised to account for differences in purchasing power between the countries and over time. ...
It is still unclear how changes in alcohol control policies may have contributed to changes in overall levels of alcohol-attributed harm between and within the Nordic countries. We modified and applied the Bridging the Gap (BtG)-scale to measure the restrictiveness of a set of alcohol control policies for each Nordic country and each year between 1990 and 2019. Alcohol-attributed harm was measured as total and sex-specific alcohol-attributed disease burden by age-standardized years of life losts (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) per 100 000 population from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). Longitudinal crosscountry comparisons with random effects regression analysis were employed to explore associations, within and across countries, differentiated by sex and the time to first effect. Overall, alcohol-attributed YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs decreased over the study period in all countries, except in Iceland. The burden was lower in those countries with restrictive national policies, apart from Finland, and higher in Denmark which had the least restrictive policies. Changes in restrictiveness were negatively associated with DALYs for causes with a longer time to effect, although this effect was stronger for males and varied between countries. The low alcohol attributed disease burden in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, compared to Denmark, points towards the success of upholding lower levels of harm with strict alcohol policies. However, sex, location and cause-specific associations indicate that the role of formal alcohol policies is highly context dependent and that other factors might influence harm as well.
... The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted April 15, 2024. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.12.24305382 doi: medRxiv preprint found here reflect issues with self-regulation generally, which can be seen in other areas of the pharmaceutical industry 47,48 and other industries including alcohol 49 and nutrition. 50 For example, a 2016 systematic review found that violations of self-regulation guidelines for alcohol marketing were 'highly prevalent.' ...
Background
Pharmaceutical companies make hundreds of millions of pounds in marketing/R&D-related payments annually to healthcare organisations and healthcare professionals. UK pharmaceutical industry self-regulatory bodies require member companies who sign up to their code of conduct to publish details of their payments. They are also required to publish the methodologies underlying these payments - methodological notes. This study aimed to analyse UK pharmaceutical companies' methodological notes and their adherence to the relevant codes of conduct and guidance.
Methods
We conducted a content analysis of methodological notes for the years 2015, 2017 and 2019 and assessed companies' adherence to self-regulatory bodies' requirements and recommendations for methodology disclosure.
Results
Overall, 90 companies made payment disclosures in all three years, publishing 269 methodological notes. We found gaps in adherence to self-regulatory requirements. Only 3 (3.3%) companies provided clear information for all self-regulatory body recommendations and regulations in all of their notes. Companies also varied in their approaches to important areas. For example, of the 244 notes with clear information on VAT management, 36.1% (N=88) included VAT, 30.3% (N=74) excluded VAT, and 33.6% (N=82) had multiple rules for VAT.
Conclusions
There was evidence of widespread non-adherence to self-regulatory requirements. This suggests flaws with self-regulation and a need for greater enforcement of rules or consideration of a publicly mandated disclosure system.
... That is, for the subgroups 'drunk driving' and 'age limits' the original questions were not sensitive enough to record more subtle policy changes and were therefore broadened. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests a negligible effect of selfregulation in alcohol marketing [25] and we therefore omitted the question related to this topic. Last, the excise taxation subgroup was revised to account for differences in purchasing power between the countries and over time. ...
It is still unclear how changes in alcohol control policies may have contributed to changes in overall levels of alcohol-attributed harm between and within the Nordic countries. We modified and applied the Bridging the Gap (BtG)-scale to measure the restrictiveness of a set of alcohol control policies for each Nordic country and each year between 1990 and 2019. Alcohol-attributed harm was measured as total and sex-specific alcohol-attributed disease burden by age-standardized years of life losts (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) per 100 000 population from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). Longitudinal crosscountry comparisons with random effects regression analysis were employed to explore associations, within and across countries, differentiated by sex and the time to first effect. Overall, alcohol-attributed YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs decreased over the study period in all countries, except in Iceland. The burden was lower in those countries with restrictive national policies, apart from Finland, and higher in Denmark which had the least restrictive policies. Changes in restrictiveness were negatively associated with DALYs for causes with a longer time to effect, although this effect was stronger for males and varied between countries. The low alcohol attributed disease burden in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, compared to Denmark, points towards the success of upholding lower levels of harm with strict alcohol policies. However, sex, location and cause-specific associations indicate that the role of formal alcohol policies is highly context dependent and that other factors might influence harm as well.
... That is, for the subgroups 'drunk driving' and 'age limits' the original questions were not sensitive enough to record more subtle policy changes and were therefore broadened. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests a negligible effect of selfregulation in alcohol marketing [25] and we therefore omitted the question related to this topic. Last, the excise taxation subgroup was revised to account for differences in purchasing power between the countries and over time. ...
It is still unclear how changes in alcohol control policies may have contributed to changes in overall levels of alcohol-attributed harm between and within the Nordic countries. We modified and applied the Bridging the Gap (BtG)-scale to measure the restrictiveness of a set of alcohol control policies for each Nordic country and each
year between 1990 and 2019. Alcohol-attributed harm was measured as total and sex-specific alcohol-attributed disease burden by age-standardized years of life losts (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability adjusted life-years (DALYs) per 100 000 population from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). Longitudinal
cross-country comparisons with random effects regression analysis were employed to explore associations, within and across countries, differentiated by sex and the time to first effect. Overall, alcohol-attributed YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs decreased over the study period in all countries, except in Iceland. The burden was lower in those
countries with restrictive national policies, apart from Finland, and higher in Denmark which had the least restrictive policies. Changes in restrictiveness were negatively associated with DALYs for causes with a longer time to effect, although this effect was stronger for males and varied between countries. The low alcohol attributed disease burden in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, compared to Denmark, points towards the success of upholding lower levels of harm with strict alcohol policies. However, sex, location and cause-specific associations indicate that the role of formal alcohol policies is highly context dependent and that other factors might influence harm as well.
... While it is not uncommon to see the critique of industry self-regulation and its ineffectiveness in consumer protection in different industries based on the investigation of empirical data (Ronit and Jensen 2014), the discussions about the reasons behind establishing a self-regulatory regime for a particular activity in the first place are not very common and rarely go beyond lobbying (Lock and Seele 2016). Most research projects investigating industry self-regulation explore this issue in the context of old and developed industries, such as alcohol production (Noel et al. 2017). The discussion of self-regulatory regimes for emerging technologies is rare, and such interventions' effectiveness is tough to assess (Lad and Caldwell 2009). ...
Regulation theory offers a unique perspective on the institutional aspects of digital capitalism’s accumulation regime. However, a gap exists in examining the associated mode of regulation. Based on the analysis of AI ethics washing phenomenon, we suggest the state is delicately balancing between fueling innovation and reducing uncertainty in emerging technologies. This balance leads to a unique mode of regulation, "Fugazi regulation," characterized by vaguely defined, non-enforceable moral principles with no specific implementation mechanisms. We propose a microeconomic model that rationalizes this approach and shows that it is justifiable when the government struggles to differentiate between benign and harmful technology use due to capacity constraints. The potential for private companies to adopt ethical practices under Fugazi regulation supports the government’s preference for this method. This regulation mode is particularly attractive to the government during technology’s early development stages, marked by governmental optimism and uncertainty about the technology. Implications for greenwashing are also derived from the analysis.
... The debates about pharmaceutical industry self-regulation are part of broader academic and policy debates on advantages and disadvantages of corporate self-regulation in ensuring socially and environmentally responsible behavior across industries (Braithwaite, 1982;Gunningham & Rees, 1997;Parker, 2002), including chemical (Smith & Tombs, 1995), finance (DeMarzo et al., 2005), transportation (Giuliano & Linder, 2013), energy (Ekhator, 2016), food and beverages (Mello et al., 2008), tobacco (Sharma et al., 2010), alcohol (Noel et al., 2017), gambling (Rossi et al., 2023), and digital technologies and platforms (Cusumano et al., 2021). A key argument in favor of corporate self-regulation, including in the pharmaceutical sector, is its alleged ability to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances compared to government regulation, said to move at a much slower pace (Francer et al., 2014). ...
Interfirm self-regulation through trade associations is common but its effectiveness is debated and likely varies by time, country , and industry. This study examines self-regulation of pharmaceutical marketing, characterized by delegation of major regulatory responsibilities to trade associations' self-regulatory bodies. In addressing critical research gaps, this study first analyzes 1,776 complaints against pharmaceutical companies in the UK over 18 years (2004-2021). Findings regarding severe, repeat, and complex offending, and delays in complaint resolution raise significant concerns about the adequacy of UK's self-regulation in deterring wrongdoing. Second, the study conducts international comparisons using recent complaints data from 30 European pharmaceutical industry self-regulatory bodies. Despite shortcomings of UK's self-regulation, it appears more adept at identifying potential breaches compared to most other countries, suggesting significant underdetection or underreporting of drug company misconduct in Europe. On balance, our findings are concerning given the negative effects of poorly regulated pharmaceutical marketing on medical practice and health.
... In the USA, several companies have consistently violated the industry self-regulatory marketing codes. For example, they have failed to limit alcohol ads to audiences where the percentage of underage individuals did not exceed 30% (Noel et al. 2016) or to refrain from advertising food or beverage products that did not meet pre-defined nutritional criteria in television programs with at least a 35% child audience (Sharma et al. 2010). These advertisements often feature inappropriate themes aimed at children, adolescents, and other vulnerable populations. ...
This study investigated the effect of self-regulatory messages by brands held accountable for causing public health concerns. With a brand’s aim to enhance the brand's public image by countering the negative perception of its products, the question was raised whether an individual brand communicating self-regulatory messages would receive a positive brand attitude. Results revealed that the brand’s self-regulatory message was positively evaluated only when consumers favored a brand. Consumers who had a negative attitude toward the brand reacted negatively to the self-regulatory message by the brand. Consumers also exhibited adverse brand evaluations when unfavorable to a product category. Ulterior motives of the brand were more inferred when they viewed a self-regulatory message than a promotional message. Consumer pre-existing attitude toward a brand or a product moderated the causal relationships of a self-regulatory message, ulterior motives, counterarguments, and brand attitude. The study highlights that brand communication of self-regulatory messages may not yield positive responses, especially when targeting the general public as a socially responsible action. Brands should be selective in their target audience, focusing on those who already hold a favorable view of the brand, to mitigate the risk of negative responses.
... Marketing is both a function and a way of approaching sales. Marketing is mainly from the perspective of creating value, profit, and benefit, the use of communication, dissemination and other means to introduce and transfer the value of products to customers and ultimately achieve the goal of stimulating customers and partners to buy products and services [1][2]. Under the traditional marketing model, due to the existence of misunderstanding of enterprise service cognition, the marketing service system is not perfect, and the quality of service is also at a lower level, which cannot bring out all the competitive advantages of the enterprise [3][4]. ...
The marketing service system is not perfect enough to highlight the competitive advantages of enterprises, and improving the marketing supply chain management mode is an inevitable trend under the change of the market economic environment. The marketing supply chain management model proposed in this paper is based on the SICAS model to respond quickly to market and customer demand. A collaborative optimization model of the supply chain based on virtual inventory management is constructed to ensure the normal operation of the whole supply chain by deploying flexible inventory in the hands of customers, and the constructed model is solved by using an evolutionary algorithm based on indexes and an optimal solution sorting method based on regret theory. The feasibility and scientificity of the proposed management model are verified by analyzing the effect of applying the management model to J and S e-commerce companies and analyzing consumer evaluation. The results show that from 2014 to 2022, the purchasing cost of J e-commerce enterprises decreased by 0.0307 as a proportion of operating income, the inventory turnover ratio increased by 0.0869, the marketing cost and logistics cost increased by 189 million yuan and 3,878 million yuan, respectively, and the supply chain cost was effectively managed. At the same time, the consumer evaluation score of the marketing supply chain management model based on SICAS model is 3.608±0.043 points; the user experience is good, to a certain extent, to enhance the competitive advantage of the enterprise.
... While online, adolescents reported exposure to alcohol more frequently than all other substances, followed by vaping, tobacco and cannabis. The comparative difference between exposure to alcoholand cannabis-related advertisements was expected given the predominance of alcohol in the media and online (Jernigan & Rushman, 2014;Noel et al., 2017), large industry influence and lack of external regulation of marketing practices (International Center for Alcohol Policies, 2011;Jackson et al., 2018). Cannabis, on the other hand, is a relatively nascent commercial industry with laws that vary by state, resulting in fewer widespread marketing campaigns and possibly more subtle marketing techniques that do not register as such (e.g., via social media and influencer advertising; Trangenstein et al., 2021). ...
Adolescent exposure to substance‐related marketing is associated with subsequent substance initiation and progression. The extent to which adolescents are exposed to such content may be associated with adolescent cognitions about digital privacy and media‐specific parenting behaviours. The present study assesses whether the relationship between screentime and online marketing risk is mediated by adolescent digital privacy‐related cognitions and moderated by media‐specific parenting behaviours. Parents and their 10–14‐year‐old adolescents (n = 960) completed an online survey on media parenting techniques and adolescent media use and attitudes. Associations between screentime, Adolescent Cognitions about Online Privacy (ACOP; comprising privacy‐related attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control), TECH parenting (Talk, Educate, Co‐Use, House Rules) and adolescent online marketing exposure were explored via a moderated mediation model. A significant total effect between screentime and online marketing exposure was identified, including an indirect path via ACOP. TECH parenting significantly strengthened ACOP's mediation of the relationship between screentime and online marketing risk. This study indicates that adolescent privacy‐related cognitions may be an important mechanism for future studies related to adolescent online risk behaviour. Implications for child and family social work are discussed.
... In a globalised, neoliberal system, in which some corporations have higher revenues than many states [2], the products from four industries -tobacco, ultra-processed food, alcohol and fossil fuels -account for at least one in every three global deaths [1]. Those exposing the corporate practices of unhealthy commodity industries (UCIs) and advocating for tighter regulation, have powerful opponents who go to great lengths to protect their interests (i.e., profit maximisation), including seeking to influence policy-making [3], manipulating science [4] and public opinion [5], and marketing their products to vulnerable groups [6,7]. ...
Background
Tobacco control advocates and researchers face powerful opponents who go to great lengths to protect their interests. While threats and attacks are documented in the grey literature, research into intimidation remains scarce. Building on previous exploratory research, this study seeks to offer in-depth insights into experiences of intimidation in the global tobacco control community.
Methods
Using qualitative description, we conducted a focus group and semi-structured interviews with tobacco control advocates and researchers to explore their experiences, including forms of, and responses to, intimidation, and ways forward. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Results
Twenty-nine individuals from across the globe participated in the study. They reported several forms of intimidation including attacks in the media; online harassment; legal threats; non-legal threats, including death threats; Freedom of Information requests; perceived or actual surveillance; as well as burglary and theft. Responses included non-action (i.e. ignoring attacks); withdrawal (i.e. abandoning a project, area or field); defensive adaptation, for example through self-censorship; and offensive measures, including exposing attacks or filing complaints. Responses were shaped by several factors, including type and level of support from within internal and external networks; as well as an individual’s mindset, skills and experiences; and state-civil society relations. Participants suggested several measures that could help address intimidation: 1) report and monitor intimidation; 2) (better) prepare individuals through awareness raising and training (e.g. IT security, legal); 3) support those in need through legal advice, a peer-support network and involvement in response; and 4) look beyond tobacco control to learn and build connections.
Conclusion
Intimidation is a significant challenge to tobacco control that needs urgent attention. This study suggests measures to address intimidation that require commitment from, and collaboration amongst, multiple actors including governments, international organisations, funders, researchers and civil society. Moreover, collective action beyond tobacco control is needed to not only manage but move beyond intimidation.
... Using a questionnaire about the exposure to the types of media on alcohol advertising in the past 30 days, we tabulated the exposure to each type of advertising media (websites, television, stores, and public transportation), as well as the cumulative number of different advertising media to which participants were exposed. The question about advertising media was formed by discussing it in the context of Japan based on previous research [11,20]. The prevalence of exposure to television advertising was high in both non-drinkers and current drinkers (89.4% and 86.5%, respectively); the proportion of non-exposed groups as a Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (2023) 28:58 reference was low and was, therefore, not suitable for inclusion in the multivariable analysis. ...
Background: Underage drinking is a public health concern. However, few studies have examined the association between alcoholic beverage advertising and underage drinking, particularly in countries with low underage drinking rates, such as Japan. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to advertising in various media and alcohol drinking among Japanese adolescents.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 15,683 adolescents (51% girls) using data from a nationwide lifestyle survey in 2021 among junior and senior high schools across Japan. Media types were websites, stores, and public transportation. We defined current drinking as alcohol consumption of ≥1 day in the 30 days preceding the survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association between exposure to alcohol advertisements and current drinking, adjusting for sex, grades, school area, lifestyle (bedtime and having fun at school), and addictive behaviors (smoking status and parents’ alcohol consumption).
Results: The prevalence of current drinking was 2.2% (2.3% of boys and 2.0% of girls). Students who were exposed to any alcohol advertising media had higher odds of current drinking compared with those who were not (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–1.87). Students who were exposed to web, in-store, and public transportation advertisements had odds ratios of 1.44 (95% CI, 1.14–1.81), 1.62 (1.28–2.05), and 1.45 (1.06–1.98) of current drinking, respectively, compared with those who were not. The association of exposure to alcohol advertising media with the prevalence of current drinking was similar among boys and girls (all p for sex interaction >0.1), except for that of exposure to web advertisements; its association with current drinking was more pronounced in girls (p for sex interaction = 0.046). Exposure to a larger cumulative number of different alcohol advertising media was independently associated with a higher prevalence of current drinking among all students, boys, and girls (p-values for trend <0.001, 0.031, and <0.001, respectively; p for sex interaction = 0.085).
Conclusions: We found an association with a dose-response relationship between exposure to alcohol advertisements and current drinking among adolescents in junior and senior high schools across Japan. Our findings highlight the need for further advertising regulations to prevent underage drinking.
... Despite the strong empirical evidence supporting the negative impacts of exposure to alcohol-related media on SNS on youth and young adults, more regulation of alcohol-related content on SNS content is required to promote better health outcomes. Current regulatory authorities monitoring alcohol-related content on SNS remain vastly ineffective, with many youths still being exposed to nonage-restricted depictions of alcohol use in socially desirable contexts [26,69]. This review also identified the salient impact of alcohol Greater exposure to alcohol-related content on SNS was crosssectionally and prospectively associated with greater average consumption. ...
Background and aim
Social networking sites (SNS) are interactive internet‐based social platforms that facilitate information sharing. A growing body of literature on exposure to, and self‐posting of, alcohol‐related content on SNS has examined the relationship between SNS use and alcohol consumption in young people. This study aims to synthesise the literature exploring the relationship between exposure (i.e. viewing or listening of alcohol‐related media) and self‐posting (i.e. uploading images or text of alcohol content) of alcohol‐related media on SNS on alcohol consumption.
Methods
A pre‐registered systematic review was conducted in June 2022 within PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Original prospective and cross‐sectional studies assessing youth and young adults (≤ 24 years of age) that measured exposure to alcohol‐related media or posting of alcohol‐related content on SNS and self‐reported alcohol consumption outcomes were included. Meta‐analyses were conducted on comparable methodologies.
Results
Thirty studies were included ( n = 19,386). Meta‐analyses of cross‐sectional studies showed both greater exposure (five studies; pooled β = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.23, 0.44, i ² = 27.7%) and self‐posting of alcohol‐related content (six studies; pooled β = 0.57, 95%CI = 0.25,0.88, i ² = 97.8%) was associated with greater alcohol consumption. Meta‐analyses of three prospective studies also identified that greater exposure predicted greater future alcohol consumption (three studies; pooled β = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.11,0.15, i ² = 0.0%). Narrative analyses of studies that could not be meta‐analysed due to incompatible methodologies were also conducted. Most studies (all four prospective, one of two cross‐sectional) identified positive associations between exposure to alcohol‐related content and greater average consumption. Most studies (three of four prospective, four of six cross‐sectional) reported a positive association between of alcohol‐related self‐posting and greater average alcohol consumption.
Conclusions
Both exposure to, and self‐posting of, alcohol‐related content on social networking sites are positively associated with current average consumption, problem drinking, and drinking frequency.
... Self-regulation can be attractive as it conserves government resources, avoids adversarial relationships, and can be more efficient than government regulation (Federal Trade Commission, 2008). These ideals, however, are challenged by historical evidence from the alcohol and tobacco industries, which violated their own regulations in marketing to minors, and generally used the claim of self-regulation as a tactic to delay more stringent statutory regulations that could protect public health (Landman et al., 2002;Noel et al., 2017;Pollay, 1994;Savell et al., 2016). Indeed, there can be a direct financial interest for industry self-regulations to be vaguely worded or ineffectual in order to circumvent more meaningful state or federal actions that could protect consumers (Lee and Freudenberg, 2022). ...
Background:
Facing statewide bans and increasing oversight in the U.S., representatives from the hemp-derived cannabinoid industry, product advocates, and consumers have been discussing self-policing and self-regulation. Prominent examples of these discussions are found online in Reddit groups.
Methods:
We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of Reddit posts between September 2020 to August 2022, focusing on the conversations surrounding regulation and consumer safety. Approximately 3800 posts were collected and subject to initial analysis. Thematic analysis was guided by literature on self-regulation and consumer health, from the anthropology of pharmaceuticals and the commercial determinants of health.
Results:
The hemp-derived cannabinoid community is discussing self-regulation, shared standards, and transparency. Self-regulation is desired by many, in hopes to stave off prohibition or restrictive government regulation and simultaneously protect consumer health. However, there is little agreement as to what these standards should be, who should oversee them, or how basic concepts should be defined. Subreddit moderators note the ease at which unlicensed or untested products can enter retail store shelves or the informal market, thereby putting health at risk. Given the lack of collective agreement, the absence of state and federal oversight, and the possibilities for consumer deception, consumer frustration and confusion are rampant. With limited access to trustworthy and verifiable information about product safety, purchasers ultimately resort to experimenting on their own bodies to assess risks and benefits.
Conclusions:
Reddit posts reflect the multiple existing tensions in the evolving industry between a genuine appeal among some for workable and consistent industry standards that could protect consumer health, a distrust of regulatory scrutiny from state or federal government, and a desire by others to maintain current profits within the existing unrestrictive free market. Our findings emphasize the urgency of developing coherent, collective, agreed upon policies structured by objective, transparent, scientifically informed regulation in order to develop a safe supply of cannabinoid products and protect consumer health.
... Die meisten Bundesländer schreiben den Gaststätten nur eine Sperrstunde zwischen fünf und sechs Uhr Deutscher Werberat, 2022). Eine systematische Übersichtsarbeit internationaler Literatur weist darauf hin, dass gegen Selbstbeschränkungen der Industrie relativ häufig verstoßen wird (Noel, Babor & Robaina et al., 2017), was die Bedeutung politischer Rahmenbedingungen hervorhebt. ...
Zielsetzung: Ausgehend von der Veröffentlichung der dritten Ausgabe des Buchs „Alkohol: Kein gewöhnliches Konsumgut“ haben die Autor_innen die Umsetzung kosteneffektiver alkoholpolitischer Maßnahmen in Deutschland bewertet. Methodik: Aktuelle gesetzliche Regelungen und Praktiken zu Maßnahmen aus vier Bereichen wurden gesichtet: (1) Preispolitische Maßnahmen; (2) Regulation der Verfügbarkeit alkoholischer Getränke; (3) Beschränkungen des Alkoholmarketings; sowie (4) Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von Alkohol am Steuer. Ergebnisse: Die Verbrauchssteuern auf alkoholische Getränke sind im europäischen Vergleich eher gering und führen zu keiner nennenswerten Reduktion der Erschwinglichkeit von Alkohol. Alkoholische Getränke können mit nur wenigen Ausnahmen rund um die Uhr und in unterschiedlichen Verkaufsstätten (z. B. in Supermärkten oder Tankstellen) erworben werden. Beschränkungen im Alkoholmarketing gibt es nur im Bereich Jugendschutz und sind auf die Abwendung von Darstellungen eines „missbräuchlichen“ Konsums beschränkt. Empfohlene Maßnahmen gegen Alkohol am Steuer sind weitestgehend umgesetzt. Schlussfolgerungen: Kosteneffektive alkoholpolitische Maßnahmen, die die alkoholbedingte Krankheitslast in Deutschland substantiell reduzieren könnten, sind in Deutschland unzureichend implementiert.
... In the U.S., alcohol advertisement rules and regulations are voluntary and self-imposed by the alcohol industry's self-regulated marketing codes to restrict alcohol marketing activity (48). These rules are mainly aimed at reducing the risk of underage drinking by minimizing youth exposure to any such advertisement (50). Massachusetts, USA, where our study was performed, has very few laws on alcohol advertising (51). ...
Objective
Exposure to alcohol‐related content is unavoidable on social media. In this study level of exposure to alcohol marketing content on Twitter and Instagram for those in recovery was examined, and the effectiveness of privacy settings to mitigate exposing content was assessed.
Methods
Four fictitious accounts were created on Instagram and Twitter in a case‐control design in Spring 2022. All accounts followed 19 alcohol brands, with two accounts (1 male, 1 female) following only alcohol brand accounts while the other two (1 male, 1 female) additionally followed recovery resources. Four weeks of data collection were done with default privacy and advertisement settings, followed by two additional weeks of data collection with advertisement and privacy settings for blocking alcohol content.
Results
Privacy settings did not help with blocking the alcoholic brand‐related photographic content on either platform, meaning that the accounts received the same amount of alcohol‐related content from the accounts they were following with and without changing the privacy settings. However, Twitter algorithms were more effective in suppressing alcohol‐related content for accounts following recovery resources and alcohol brands.
Conclusions
These results suggest that risks of exposure to triggering/cueing photographic alcohol content may outweigh the benefits of social media for social connection if an individual is considering seeking recovery.
... Education campaigns can therefore be attractive to governments as part of broader efforts to protect the community from alcohol-related harms (Diepeveen et al., 2013). Education campaigns can also assist in counteracting alcohol marketing campaigns that promote and normalise alcohol use, depicting it as a fun and social activity (Noel et al., 2017;Pettigrew et al., 2020;Smith et al., 2013). ...
Introduction:
Public awareness of the alcohol-cancer link is low. Provision of this information could reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. The Spread campaign is a multi-media education campaign implemented in Western Australia to inform people about the carcinogenic properties of alcohol and associated harms. The aims of the present study were to (i) examine attitudinal and behavioural outcomes of the Spread campaign and (ii) identify demographic and drinking status factors associated with enactment of harm-reduction behaviours resulting from exposure.
Method:
A cross sectional survey of Western Australian drinkers (consumed alcohol at least a few times in the previous 12 months, n = 760) examined campaign recognition, campaign perceptions, and behaviours resulting from campaign exposure. Chi-square analyses and a generalised linear model were used to identify demographic and alcohol-related factors associated with behavioural outcomes.
Results:
Around two-thirds of respondents recognised the campaign (65%), and of these, 22% reported successfully reducing how often or how much they drank due to seeing the campaign. Three quarters (73%) of all respondents considered the campaign message about the alcohol-cancer link to be believable. Respondents drinking at levels above the Australian guideline were less likely to have positive perceptions of the campaign than those complying with the guideline, but were more likely to report enacting the assessed harm-reduction behaviours as a result of campaign exposure.
Discussion and conclusion:
The results suggest that provision of information about the alcohol-cancer link has the potential to motivate reduced alcohol consumption. Implementing such campaigns could constitute an effective alcohol harm-reduction strategy.
... 2,3,5,14,48 Overall the shortcomings of this database are reflective of general issues seen with self-regulation across several industries, such as pharmaceutical, 49,50 nutrition 51 and alcohol. 52 This highlights the need for a publicly mandated database. This could be EU wide and cover both the medical device and pharmaceutical industry. ...
Background
Medical device industry payments to healthcare organisations (HCOs) can create conflicts of interest which can undermine patient care. One way of addressing this concern is by enhancing transparency of industry financial support to HCOs. MedTech Europe, a medical device trade body, operate a system of disclosure of education payments to European HCOs. This study aimed to characterise payments reported in this database and to evaluate the disclosure system.
Methods
An observational study of education-related payments to HCOs reported by the medical device industry in Europe was conducted. Data was manually extracted from transparentmedtech.eu. The primary outcome variable is the value of the payments, overall, and for each year, payment type, and country. The accessibility, availability and quality of the database was also analysed, using a proforma with 15 measures.
Findings
Overall, 116 medical device companies reported education-related payments in 53 countries, valuing over €420 million between 2017-2019, increasing in value between 2017-2019, from €91,289,672 to €175,414,302. Ten countries accounted for 94% of all payments and ten companies accounted for 80% of all payments. The accessibility, availability and quality of the database, rated low for six measures, medium for six measures and high for three measures.
Interpretation
There is a large amount of education-related payments from medical device companies to European HCOs, creating substantial potential for conflicts of interest. MedTech Europe’s disclosure system has many shortcomings. A European-wide publicly mandated disclosure system for both the medical device and pharmaceutical industries should be introduced.
Funding
Swedish Research Council (SM, PO)
Though often framed as a technocratic tool, impact assessment is a core element of the political agenda‐setting process. In this article, we show that decisions about what is subject to legislative debate are made during impact assessment; specifically, during the drafting of the assessment report. Using a social process tracing methodology, we analyze the removal from the agenda of provisions for stronger alcohol advertising rules during the revision of the EU's Audiovisual Media Services Directive. We identify and test three possible explanations for this non‐decision, drawing on material not previously in the public domain, and exploring how procedural politicking in the context of the EU's Better Regulation agenda shapes the drafting process. Concluding that the non‐decision on alcohol advertising regulation was most likely prompted by combined political pressure from within and outwith the Commission, we argue for greater attention to impact assessment as a tool for mobilizing bias and agenda‐setting.
BACKGROUND
Digital alcohol marketing increases alcohol consumption among underage persons. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of age verification measures on three digital sites: official alcohol company websites and their associated brand pages on Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria.
METHODS
We created three fictitious age profiles (14, 16, and 18 years) on the three digital sites. Using a smartphone and desktop computer, we assessed the presence of age verification on 15 official alcohol companies' websites, 66 alcohol brand pages on Facebook, and 72 on Instagram. We assessed whether the fictitious underage profiles could interact with content on brand pages.
FINDINGS
Only three of 15 alcohol companies' websites included age verification. Two websites required entering the date of birth, while one required clicking a yes/no box to confirm being above 18 years old. Only one website blocked multiple attempts to gain access using an underage profile. Only 24 of 66 official alcohol brand pages on Facebook activated age verification. Underage users aged 14 and 16 could interact with posts and follow 42 alcohol brand pages on Facebook. Only 22 of 72 alcohol brand pages on Instagram had age verification. Users aged 14 and 16 could interact with posts and follow 50 alcohol brand pages on Instagram.
CONCLUSION
Underage persons can access and interact with alcohol content on alcohol companies' websites and brand pages on Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria. A regulatory framework for restricting underage access to alcohol marketing on digital platforms is required in Nigeria.
Despite high levels of alcohol use in Uganda, there is a scarcity of research on alcohol marketing, its placement and content. In this field study we evaluated the content of alcohol billboards across Kampala, Uganda using the Alcohol Marketing Assessment Rating Tool (AMART). Of the 27 unique alcohol advertisements evaluated, the nine-member review panel found that 23 contained at least one violation yielding a violation rate of 85%. Given the high number of violations, our recommendation is that future alcohol billboard advertisements within Kampala be reviewed and approved by a governing body for compliance with alcohol advertisement standards.
Introduction
Alcohol sponsorship of sport is associated with increased alcohol consumption. Little research to date has examined the sponsorship of sport by no‐ and low‐alcohol (NoLo) beverage brands, despite concern that the marketing of these products might be harmful to young people. This study had dual aims: to identify sporting partnerships between NoLo beers and Australian sport, and examine marketing tactics used in social media advertising to promote these partnerships.
Methods
Our sample included NoLo beers sold online from three large Australian alcohol retailers. First, we performed a qualitative content analysis of partnerships between NoLo beers and sport using publicly available online information. We then analysed the 118 social media posts of NoLo brands linked to these partnerships using a coding framework adapted from the alcohol literature.
Results
Of 34 brands, 13 had sporting sponsorship partnerships across a range of spectator and participatory sports. Key marketing tactics identified on social media were activations, time‐and event‐specific drinking, influencer marketing, competitions, and corporate social responsibility. In particular, NoLo brands aim to disrupt the sports drink market by advertising their products as healthy recovery drinks, or ‘sports beers’, through activation events. Brands are also using influencer marketing and competitions, two tactics shown to be particularly persuasive for young people.
Discussion and Conclusions
NoLo beer brands strategically align with Australian sports to promote NoLo consumption. As they are classified as soft drinks in Australia, NoLo beverages are not regulated like alcohol. Future discussions around sports sponsorship and advertising regulation must consider NoLo products.
b> Introduction: In Portugal, the alcohol industry (AI) engages in corporate political activity, influencing decision-making and potentially obstructing the implementation of evidence-based alcohol policies, such as higher taxes, stricter advertising laws, and mandatory warning labels on all alcoholic beverages. Yet, no research has been conducted specifically on the industry’s corporate social responsibility activities (CSR), which can also hinder the implementation of these cost-effective policies while serving as a means for nurturing its reputation. Methods: This study addresses this gap by examining the CSR practices of ten AI actors in Portugal. Through qualitative content analysis, data collected from their websites was categorized based on an adapted framework considering seven CSR categories. Results: The results revealed CSR practices across all categories, with corporate philanthropy and alcohol information provision and education accounting for 65% of the analyzed data. The findings highlight potential conflicts between the public health initiatives of AI in Portugal and its profit-driven objectives. Conclusion: CSR activities undermine health protection and alcohol harm prevention efforts by promoting a dubious discourse about an undeniably harmful substance. The present study recommends considering vigilant monitoring, regulation, or even the ban on CSR practices of AI in Portugal.
Introduction:
Alcohol remains a significant contributor to mortality and morbidity in Finland and the Baltic countries, particularly among men. This study aimed to assess alcohol policy restrictiveness in this region from 1995 to 2019 using a modified version of the Bridging the Gap (BtG-M) policy scale and examine its association with alcohol-related disease burden.
Methods:
The study utilised national laws to score policy restrictiveness (higher BtG-M scores mean stricter policies) and age-standardised rates of disability-adjusted life years (DALY), years of life lost, years lived with disability and deaths per 100,000 from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD). Spearman correlation tests and panel data regression models were applied to assess the association between policy score and burden of disease.
Results:
Finland maintained a high BtG-M score, while the Baltic countries experienced recent increases from initially lower scores. Alcohol-related disease burden showed an inverse association with policy changes in these countries. Strongest association was seen between the BtG-M score and DALY rates attributed to injuries. Premature mortality among men constituted the largest proportion of disease burden.
Discussion and conclusions:
Despite challenges in accessing and comparing policy data over time, we showed a strong association between alcohol policy and alcohol-related harm in Finland and the Baltic countries. This study is one of the first to use the BtG-M scale to monitor changes in alcohol policies over time and their relationship to alcohol-related harm using GBD methodology. The study highlights the effects of national alcohol policies on levels of alcohol-related harm.
Background
Sub-Saharan Africa is important to the future of alcohol and global health because the alcohol market there is expanding rapidly in a relatively young population. This entails a corresponding contest about whether the policy measures adopted will be shaped by scientific evidence or by industry interference in alcohol policy. This study examines how alcohol industry actors use social media.
Methods
Uganda was selected for study because of high levels of alcohol harm and recent alcohol policy debates. Data on the X (formerly Twitter) activity of the Ugandan companies of AB InBev and Diageo, who are the two main brewers, and the trade association including both, were collected, coded and thematically analysed.
Results
X is used overwhelmingly by alcohol industry actors in Uganda to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR) and alcohol policy framing content. There is little direct product marketing. The framing of policy problems and solutions, and of the actors involved in policymaking and CSR resembles that used elsewhere in the political strategies of the transnational alcohol corporations. Content which appears more emphasised in Uganda includes material on farmers, illicit trade and contribution to the economy. As elsewhere, it avoids giving attention to the policy measures which would make a difference to the levels of alcohol harms endured by Uganda. Rhetorically, X is thus used to create a parallel universe, in which the actual harms and what is known about how to reduce them are conspicuous by their absence.
Conclusions
The alcohol industry presents itself as indispensable to Uganda’s future and appears to have developed relationships with politicians, partnerships with government, and built a coalition with farmers. This means the alcohol industry may be well positioned to oppose public health policy measures, even though their arguments lack substance and are at odds with the evidence.
This report highlights the substantial impact of commercial determinants on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the WHO European Region. Nearly 7500 deaths per day in the Region are attributed to commercial determinants, such as tobacco, alcohol,processed food, fossil fuels and occupational practices. These commercial products and practices contribute to 25% of all deaths in the Region. The report’s chapters systematically explore various facets of how commercial interests exacerbate NCDs and key strategies used by commercial actors to negatively influence NCD-related policies at the national and international level. The reportalso provides selected case studies from the Region to illustrate key strategies and outcomes of industry influence on health policies.The report then calls for urgent and coordinated action to address the commercial determinants of NCDs. It advocates for building coalitions based on the values of equity, sustainability, and resilience. Public health actors are urged to develop competencies in economic and legal frameworks, enforce transparency, and manage conflicts of interest effectively. The report underscores the need for robust financial reforms and strict regulation to curb industry power and protect public health. By implementing these strategies, the Region can accelerate progress towards global NCD targets and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
This report highlights the substantial impact of commercial determinants on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the WHO European Region. Nearly 7500 deaths per day in the Region are attributed to commercial determinants, such as tobacco, alcohol, processed food, fossil fuels and occupational practices. These commercial products and practices contribute to 25% of all deaths in the Region. The report's chapters systematically explore various facets of how commercial interests exacerbate NCDs and key strategies used by commercial actors to negatively influence NCD-related policies at the national and international level. The report also provides selected case studies from the Region to illustrate key strategies and outcomes of industry influence on health policies. The report then calls for urgent and coordinated action to address the commercial determinants of NCDs. It advocates for building coalitions based on the values of equity, sustainability, and resilience. Public health actors are urged to develop competencies in economic and legal frameworks, enforce transparency, and manage conflicts of interest effectively. The report underscores the need for robust financial reforms and strict regulation to curb industry power and protect public health. By implementing these strategies, the Region can accelerate progress towards global NCD targets and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Introduction: The global alcohol industry sponsors social/music events targeting young people; however, existing literature focuses on Westernised contexts. Given the decline in young people’s drinking in many Western countries, it appears that multinational alcohol companies are importing the strategies they have used in high-income countries to the Global South countries like Nigeria to recoup profits. This study aims to examine the Guinness Show- a free one-month annual music festival, alcohol marketing at the festival and the extent to which
the event encourages diverse drinking practices among its attendees.
Methods: We observed the music festival before collecting data through 53 interviews and 3 focus groups (N =26). Data were analysed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo 12 software.
Findings: Over 6000 participants attend the Guinness Show daily, and participants gave detailed descriptions of the music festival, alcohol marketing activities that occur in it and the drinking practices of attendees, indicating that they were highly knowledgeable of the event. The Guinness Show attracts famous music artistes and other entertainers. Therefore, young people attend to see them perform free of charge. However, diverse alcohol promotions (e.g., quantity deals, low prices, giveaways) that happen daily, the strategic use of young women as ‘beer promoters’, and the pleasure the event induces by fusing music/entertainment into alcogenic environments, encourage drinking and drunkenness. All the attendees drank alcohol, and some engaged in impulse buying, while many consumed excessively due to promotions (e.g., buy-two-get-one free), which facilitated intoxication and the loss of control.
Conclusions: Guinness Nigeria organises the event for strategic brand communication, generating brand capital, and encouraging alcohol purchases and consumption among young people. Policymakers should reconsider selfregulation and implement national alcohol control policies and other public health interventions to restrain the alcohol industry from sponsoring such events.
Objective:
Little is known about the consequences of substance-related advertising on driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) or cannabis (DUIC). This study seeks to estimate associations between substance-related digital advertising exposures and DUIA and DUIC, respectively, in a sample of young adults.
Method:
The Rhode Island Young Adult Survey 2022 was a cross-sectional web-based survey of N=1,022 adults aged 18-25 years. Analyses were conducted among lifetime alcohol users (n=824) and lifetime cannabis users (n=471). Prevalence of past 30-day digital ad exposure to alcohol and cannabis, respectively, was assessed, as well as prevalence of past month DUIA and DUIC. Multivariable logistic regressions examined the association between digital ad exposure and substance use among lifetime users, and ad exposure and DUI among current users.
Results:
54.4% of participants reported past 30-day exposure to digital alcohol advertising, and 33.5% reported exposure to digital cannabis advertising. Exposure to social media alcohol advertising was associated with higher odds of DUIA after adjustment for sociodemographic variables (OR[95%CI]=2.14[1.07,4.28]), but not after accounting for frequency of use. Odds of DUIC remained significantly higher for those exposed to app-based cannabis advertising after adjusting for sociodemographic variables (OR[95%CI]=4.36[1.76,10.8]) and frequency of use (OR[95%CI]= 3.96[1.53,10.2]).
Conclusions:
Since social media alcohol ad exposure may be indirectly linked with DUIA and app-based cannabis ad exposure may be directly linked to frequency of use and DUIC, legislators should consider comprehensive substance-related ad regulations and bans.
Policy Points
Government and civil society should be held more accountable for creating food and beverage regulatory policies rather than assigning moral agency to the food and beverage industry.
Nutrition policymaking institutions should ensure civil society's ability to design regulatory policy.
Government policymaking institutions should be isolated from industry interference.
Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund und Ziele: Dieser Artikel fasst die Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerungen der dritten Ausgabe des Buches „Alkohol: Kein gewöhnliches Konsumgut“ zusammen. Mit der jüngsten Überarbeitung dieses Buches werden die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse über gesundheitspolitische Maßnahmen bei Alkoholkonsum aus der Sicht der Bevölkerungsgesundheit (Public Health) kritisch bewertet. Aufbau: Zusammenfassung des Buchinhalts nach fünf Hauptthemen. Ergebnisse: Eine Vielzahl epidemiologischer Studien zeigt, dass Alkoholkonsum in Ländern mit hohem, mittlerem und niedrigem Einkommen einen erheblichen Beitrag zur weltweiten Belastung durch Krankheit, Behinderung und Tod leistet. Aktuelle Trends von Alkoholprodukten und -vermarktung lassen erkennen, dass sich ein großer Teil der globalen Industrie zu einer kleinen Anzahl von transnationalen Konzernen fusioniert hat und diese Konzerne ihre Aktivitäten vor allem nach Asien, Afrika und Lateinamerika ausweiten. Der Hauptteil dieses Buches ist einem Überblick über strukturelle Maßnahmen und zumeist überindividuelle Strategien gewidmet, die alkoholbedingte Schäden verhindern oder minimieren sollen. Die wirksamsten Strategien zum Schutz der Bevölkerungsgesundheit sind – kurz gefasst – eine Besteuerung, die die Finanzierbarkeit des Konsums verringert, und Beschränkungen der physischen Verfügbarkeit von Alkohol. Ein vollständiges Verbot der Vermarktung von Alkohol ist ebenfalls eine wirksame Strategie zur Verringerung des Konsums. Darüber hinaus sind Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung des Alkoholkonsums im Straßenverkehr, Kurzinterventionen bei Risikokonsument_innen und die Behandlung von Personen mit Alkoholabhängigkeit wirksam, um Schäden in Hochrisikosituationen und in Gruppen mit einem riskanten Trinkverhalten zu verhindern bzw. zu minimieren. Schlussfolgerungen: Alkoholpolitische Maßnahmen sind das Ergebnis konkurrierender Interessen, Werte und Ideologien unterschiedlicher Akteure. Die Zusammenarbeit mit der Alkoholindustrie zeitigt aufgrund des Interessenskonflikts zwischen Profit und Gesundheit meistens ineffektive politische Maßnahmen. Mit dem zunehmenden Wissen darüber, welche Strategien dem Gemeinwohl am besten dienen, sind die vielfältigen Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten einer evidenzbasierten Alkoholpolitik klarer als je zuvor.
Introduction:
Recent years have seen an expanding 'no and low alcohol' (NoLo) drinks market in the United Kingdom and other high-income countries. With the UK government pledging to increase the availability of NoLos and encourage their consumption, further research is required to underpin policy and explore the potential for NoLos to ease - or exacerbate - alcohol-related harm.
Methods:
This paper draws on original primary research on NoLo marketing and consumption in the UK; analysis of two NoLo marketing campaigns and semi-structured interviews with both drinkers and non-drinkers who consume NoLos.
Findings and discussion:
Addition marketing was identified in the promotion of NoLo products, encouraging consumers to incorporate NoLo consumption into new spatial and temporal contexts on top of their typical weekly drinking patterns. However, there was resistance towards these practices from consumers, who stressed they were more likely to drink NoLos in place of alcohol and incorporate them into their existing drinking routines.
Conclusion:
This paper expands a currently very limited evidence base and contributes directly to ongoing debates around 'addition' versus 'substitution' (i.e. whether NoLo products are being used on top of or in place of alcohol). Findings highlight both some of the challenges and opportunities of the expanding market, pointing towards the problematic presence of 'addition marketing' but also highlighting the ways consumers might challenge this and use NoLos flexibly to reduce consumption. As a result, NoLo promotion could function as one tool amongst many to help at least some consumers drink in moderation, alongside a broader package of measures such as education and wider social change.
Introduction:
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated rates of alcohol purchasing and related harms in the USA. The increases followed governors' emergency orders that increased alcohol availability, including the allowance of alcohol home delivery, alcohol to-go from restaurants and bars, and curbside pickup from retailers.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 53 participants involved in state-level alcohol prevention policy across 48 states. Interviewees' perspectives on changes to alcohol prevention policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including capacity to respond to alcohol-focused executive and legislative changes to alcohol availability, were explored. Initial codes were developed collectively and refined through successive readings of transcripts using a phenomenological, action-oriented research approach. Themes were identified semantically after all transcripts were coded and reviewed.
Results:
Four themes were developed including: (i) alcohol prevention policies and capacity during COVID-19; (ii) industry-related challenges during COVID-19; (iii) limited pre-COVID-19 alcohol prevention capacity; and (iv) needs to strengthen alcohol prevention capacity.
Discussion and conclusions:
The pandemic exacerbated states' capacity limitations for alcohol prevention efforts and created additional impediments to public health messaging about alcohol health risks related to greater alcohol availability. Participants offered a myriad of strategies to improve alcohol prevention and to reduce alcohol-related harms. Recommendations included dedicated federal and state prioritisation, more funding for community organisations, greater coordination, consistent high-quality trainings, stronger surveillance and widespread prevention messaging. States' alcohol prevention efforts require dedicated leadership, additional funding and support to strengthen population-based strategies to reduce sustained alcohol-related harms associated with increases in alcohol availability.
Objective:
Identify and assess publicly available local government sponsorship and signage policies related to harmful products in Western Australia (WA).
Methods:
An audit of WA Local Government Authority (LGAs) websites (n=139) was conducted. Sponsorship, signage, venue hire and community grants' policies were located and assessed against set criterion. Policies were scored for the inclusion of statements regarding the display and promotion of harmful commodities (alcohol, tobacco, gambling products, unhealthy food and beverages).
Results:
Across WA local governments, 477 relevant policies were identified. Six percent (n=28) included statements restricting the promotion of at least one harmful commodity via sponsorships, signage, venue hire, and sporting and/or community grants policy. Twenty-three local governments had at least one policy that restricted unhealthy signage or sponsorship.
Conclusions:
Most WA local governments do not have publicly available policies that specifically limit the advertising and promotion of harmful commodities in their government-owned facilities.
Implications for public health:
There is a dearth of research identifying LGA interventions addressing advertising of harmful commodities within council-owned sporting venues. This research indicates opportunities for West Australian LGAs to develop and implement policy to protect public health by restricting the promotion of harmful commodities to their communities, improving the healthfulness of environments.
Introduction:
Alcohol is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. One significant barrier to the implementation of evidence-based alcohol policy is alcohol industry opposition. Making submissions to national policy processes is one way in which the industry exert influence. The aim of this study was to analyse alcohol industry submissions into Australia's National Alcohol Strategy to determine key assertions made by the alcohol industry and the ways in which they use evidence and refute the effectiveness of public health policies to make their claims.
Methods:
Submissions made by alcohol industry actors (n = 12) were analysed using content analysis to determine key industry assertions. A pre-existing framework on alcohol industry use of evidence was then applied to analyse the evidentiary practices used to make these assertions.
Results:
Five common industry assertions were identified: 'Drinking alcohol in moderation has health benefits'; 'Alcohol isn't the cause of violence'; 'Targeted initiatives, not population level alcohol policies, are needed'; 'Strong alcohol advertising regulations are not necessary'; and 'Minimum unit price and pricing and taxation policies more broadly are not needed'. The industry systematically manipulated, misused and ignored evidence throughout their submissions.
Discussion and conclusions:
The alcohol industry is misusing evidence in their submissions to government consultations to make their assertions about alcohol policy. It is therefore essential that industry submissions are scrutinised and not accepted on face value. Additionally, it is suggested that the alcohol industry requires a distinct model of governance similarly to that which regulates the tobacco industry to prevent their attempts to undermine evidence-based public health policy.
Aim:
exposure to alcohol marketing is associated with increased consumption. We aimed to (i) measure the nature and extent of outdoor alcohol marketing within a high-density urban neighbourhood and (ii) examine temporal and spatial trends in alcohol marketing.
Methods:
this study used a longitudinal design to monitor paid advertising in public spaces over two 10-week periods in Wellington, New Zealand (Nov-Jan 2020-2021, Nov-Jan 2021-2022). The data were collected on-foot following an established route once a week using a phone camera, which also recorded gps data of ad locations. Temporal and spatial trends in alcohol ad prevalence were assessed.
Results:
over the study period, 13% (n = 1619) of all ads (n = 12,472) were for alcohol. Alcohol ads were predominately for spirits (29%), ready-to-drink (27%) and beer (23%). Almost half of all alcohol ads (49%) did not contain a responsible consumption message, while those with a message were de-emphasized relative to promotional features. A temporal trend was observed in 2020, whereby alcohol marketing decreased over the summer, but this trend was not reflected in 2021. Alcohol ads were more likely than non-alcohol ads to be placed in premium positions on roads of high pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic.
Conclusion:
alcohol marketing is common in urban centres. Local and central government policy could substantially reduce the levels of alcohol marketing exposure via outdoor marketing.
Excessive alcohol consumption accounted for an estimated 4,700 deaths and 280,000 years of potential life lost among youths aged <21 years each year during 2001-2005. Exposure to alcohol marketing increases the likelihood to varying degrees that youths will initiate drinking and drink at higher levels. By 2003, the alcohol industry voluntarily agreed not to advertise on television programs where >30% of the audience is reasonably expected to be aged <21 years. However, the National Research Council/Institute of Medicine (NRC/IOM) proposed in 2003 that "the industry standard should move toward a 15% threshold for television advertising". Because local media markets might have different age distributions, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, evaluated the proportion of advertisements that appeared on television programs in 25 local television markets* and resulting youth exposure that exceeded the industry standard (i.e., >30% aged 2-20 years) or the proposed NRC/IOM standard (i.e., >15% aged 12-20 years). Among national television programs with alcohol advertising, placements were assessed for the 10 programs with the largest number of youth viewers within each of four program categories: network sports, network nonsports, cable sports, and cable nonsports (40 total). Of the 196,494 alcohol advertisements that aired on television programs with the largest number of youth viewers in these local markets, placement of 23.7% exceeded the industry threshold and 35.4% exceeded the NRC/IOM threshold. These results indicate that the alcohol industry's self-regulation of its advertising could be improved, and youth exposure to alcohol advertising could be further reduced by adopting and complying with the NRC/IOM standard. In addition, continued public health surveillance would allow for sustained assessment of youth exposure to alcohol advertising and inform future interventions.
Background
There is little alcohol research that reports on the thematic contents of contemporary alcohol advertisements in U.S. television. Studies of alcohol ads from 2 decades ago did not identify “Partying” as a social theme. Aim of this study was to describe and classify alcohol advertisements aired in national television in terms of contents, airing times, and channel placements and to identify different marketing strategies of alcohol brands.
Methods
Content analysis of all ads from the top 20 U.S. beer and spirit brands aired between July 2009 and June 2011. These were 581 unique alcohol ads accounting for 272,828 (78%) national television airings. Ads were coded according to predefined definitions of 13 content areas. A latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to define content cluster themes and determine alcoholic brands that were more likely to exploit these themes.
Results
About half of the advertisements (46%) were aired between 3 am and 8 pm, and the majority were placed either in Entertainment (40%) and Sports (38%) channels. Beer ads comprised 64% of the sample, with significant variation in airing times and channels between types of products and brands. LCA revealed 5 content classes that exploited the “Partying,” “Quality,” “Sports,” “Manly,” and “Relax” themes. The partying class, indicative of ad messages surrounding partying, love, and sex, was the dominant theme comprising 42% of all advertisements. Ads for alcopops, flavored spirits, and liqueur were more likely to belong to the party class, but there were also some beer brands (Corona, Heineken) where more than 67% of ads exploited this theme.
Conclusions
This is the first analysis to identify a partying theme to contemporary alcohol advertising. Future analyses can now determine whether exposure to that or other themes predicts alcohol misuse among youth audiences.
We assessed the impact of the 2010 revisions to Brazil's self-regulatory alcohol marketing code using expert and adolescent raters.
Five popular TV beer ads were selected. Ads were rated based on the 2010 Brazilian self-regulatory marketing code. The expert group (N = 31) represented health-related professions; the adolescent group (N = 110) were public high school students.
At least 1 ad violated 11 of 17 guidelines included in the study. Ratings by experts and adolescents were similar. Both found violations in all sections of the self-regulatory code, but significant group differences were seen in applying the section that prohibits the promotion of excessive alcohol consumption, with experts identifying more violations than adolescents.
Beer ads in the sample systematically violated the self-regulatory standards for alcohol advertising in Brazil according to both experts and youth. Public policies for more effective restrictions and prohibitions in alcohol ads should be considered.
© The Author 2015. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Background:
Exposure of young people to alcohol advertising is a risk factor for underage drinking. This study assessed youth exposure to television alcohol advertising in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, from December 2010 to May 2011.
Methods:
A negative binomial regression model predicted number of alcohol advertisements from the proportion of the television viewership in each age group. This allowed comparison of alcohol advertisement incidence for each youth age category relative to an adult reference category.
Results:
In the UK, those aged 10-15 years were significantly more exposed to alcohol advertisements per viewing hour than adults aged ≥ 25 years [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.11; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.06, 1.18; P < 0.01]; in the Netherlands, those aged 13-19 years were more exposed per viewing hour than adults aged ≥ 20 years (IRR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.39; P < 0.01). Conversely, in Germany, those aged 10-15 years were less exposed to alcohol advertisements than adults aged ≥ 25 years (IRR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.85; P < 0.01). In each country, young children (aged 4-9 years in the UK and Germany, 6-12 years in the Netherlands) were less exposed than adults.
Conclusion:
Adolescents in the UK and the Netherlands, but not Germany, had higher exposure to television alcohol advertising relative to adults than would be expected from their television viewing. Further work across a wider range of countries is needed to understand the relationship between national policies and youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television.
Using text analysis, this study compares the alcohol advertising strategy in Ukraine and the United States within the context of regulatory, historical, cultural, and economic factors. Results showed that Ukrainian magazine ads contained a larger number of violations than the American ads, which complied with the letter of the law, if not the spirit. The message strategies also told different cultural stories that reflect the different ideologies for the two countries, which means that specialized advertising approaches are needed for each country. American ads situate alcohol as part of normal life, whereas Ukrainian ads demonstrate conspicuous consumption and celebrate the change to a market economy. They must not only sell the product but also teach Ukrainians how to be part of the consumer culture.
In 2011, online marketing became the largest marketing channel in the UK, overtaking television for the first time. This study aimed to describe the exposure of children and young adults to alcohol marketing on social media websites in the UK.
We used commercially available data on the three most used social media websites among young people in the UK, from December 2010 to May 2011. We analysed by age (6-14 years; 15-24 years) and gender the reach (proportion of internet users who used the site in each month) and impressions (number of individual pages viewed on the site in each month) for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We further analysed case studies of five alcohol brands to assess the marketer-generated brand content available on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in February and March 2012.
Facebook was the social media site with the highest reach, with an average monthly reach of 89% of males and 91% of females aged 15-24. YouTube had a similar average monthly reach while Twitter had a considerably lower usage in the age groups studied. All five of the alcohol brands studied maintained a Facebook page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, with varying levels of user engagement. Facebook pages could not be accessed by an under-18 user, but in most cases YouTube content and Twitter content could be accessed by those of all ages.
The rise in online marketing of alcohol and the high use of social media websites by young people suggests that this is an area requiring further monitoring and regulation.
This article uses cross-country panel data to study the effects of advertising bans and other control policies on alcohol demand. The null hypothesis is that advertising bans do not decrease alcohol consumption. The study addresses several shortcomings in four previous cross-country studies. First, an explanatory variable is included for other alcohol control policies. Second, the study examines the history of advertising bans in OECD countries. Third, the study also examines differences in cross-country trends that characterize developed countries, including aging of the population, increased tourism, higher unemployment rates and increased consumption of wine. The Mediterranean wine-drinking countries are shown to be categorically distinct from the beer-drinking countries and Nordic spirits-drinking countries. Fourth, the study examines the panel data for unit roots and employs model specifications that correct for nonstationary data. The empirical results indicate a significantly negative effect for the control index and the alcohol price. Using alternative model specifications and estimation methods, the results indicate that advertising bans do not reduce alcohol consumption.
The goals of this study were to assess the feasibility of using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to measure adolescents' exposure to alcohol and smoking-related media. A sample of 20 middle and high school students completed a 2-week EMA protocol in which they monitored exposures to alcohol and smoking-related media. Results showed that adolescents were highly compliant with the study protocol. A total of 255 exposures to alcohol (67%) and smoking (33%) were captured, representing an average of 8.50 (SD = 5.82) alcohol-related media exposures and 4.25 (SD = 3.67) smoking-related media exposures per participant, during the study period. Exposures tended to occur in the afternoon (52% alcohol; 54% smoking), at point of sale (44% alcohol; 65% smoking), and on days leading up to the weekend (57% alcohol; 57% smoking). Exposures were also likely in the presence of family (69% alcohol; 56% smoking). Overall, results of this small pilot provide preliminary evidence that EMA is a useful tool for tracking and characterizing middle and high school students' real-world exposures to alcohol- and smoking-related media. Future studies may suggest mechanisms by which media exposures lead to youth uptake of drinking and smoking behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
Background:
This study evaluated the use of a modified Delphi technique in combination with a previously developed alcohol advertising rating procedure to detect content violations in the U.S. Beer Institute Code. A related aim was to estimate the minimum number of raters needed to obtain reliable evaluations of code violations in television commercials.
Methods:
Six alcohol ads selected for their likelihood of having code violations were rated by community and expert participants (N = 286). Quantitative rating scales were used to measure the content of alcohol advertisements based on alcohol industry self-regulatory guidelines. The community group participants represented vulnerability characteristics that industry codes were designed to protect (e.g., age <21); experts represented various health-related professions, including public health, human development, alcohol research, and mental health. Alcohol ads were rated on 2 occasions separated by 1 month. After completing Time 1 ratings, participants were randomized to receive feedback from 1 group or the other.
Results:
Findings indicate that (i) ratings at Time 2 had generally reduced variance, suggesting greater consensus after feedback, (ii) feedback from the expert group was more influential than that of the community group in developing group consensus, (iii) the expert group found significantly fewer violations than the community group, (iv) experts representing different professional backgrounds did not differ among themselves in the number of violations identified, and (v) a rating panel composed of at least 15 raters is sufficient to obtain reliable estimates of code violations.
Conclusions:
The Delphi technique facilitates consensus development around code violations in alcohol ad content and may enhance the ability of regulatory agencies to monitor the content of alcoholic beverage advertising when combined with psychometric-based rating procedures.
Because of the pressure for timely, informed decisions in public health and clinical practice and the explosion of information in the scientific literature, research results must be synthesized. Meta-analyses are increasingly used to address this problem, and they often evaluate observational studies. A workshop was held in Atlanta, Ga, in April 1997, to examine the reporting of meta-analyses of observational studies and to make recommendations to aid authors, reviewers, editors, and readers.
Twenty-seven participants were selected by a steering committee, based on expertise in clinical practice, trials, statistics, epidemiology, social sciences, and biomedical editing. Deliberations of the workshop were open to other interested scientists. Funding for this activity was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We conducted a systematic review of the published literature on the conduct and reporting of meta-analyses in observational studies using MEDLINE, Educational Research Information Center (ERIC), PsycLIT, and the Current Index to Statistics. We also examined reference lists of the 32 studies retrieved and contacted experts in the field. Participants were assigned to small-group discussions on the subjects of bias, searching and abstracting, heterogeneity, study categorization, and statistical methods.
From the material presented at the workshop, the authors developed a checklist summarizing recommendations for reporting meta-analyses of observational studies. The checklist and supporting evidence were circulated to all conference attendees and additional experts. All suggestions for revisions were addressed.
The proposed checklist contains specifications for reporting of meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology, including background, search strategy, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Use of the checklist should improve the usefulness of meta-analyses for authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and decision makers. An evaluation plan is suggested and research areas are explored.
A content analysis examined how well alcohol ads from televised sporting events adhered to self-regulatory advertising guidelines. Although nearly every ad followed the guidelines literally, there were numerous instances of strategically ambiguous content that could be interpreted as violating the guidelines' spirit. For example, a joke about designated drivers hinted at drunkenness without explicitly showing it, and many ads showed drinking as well as risky activities like driving or swimming, although not necessarily occurring simultaneously. The study also confirmed that alcohol ads are common in televised sporting events, and that the most frequent themes are humor, friendship, sex, and romance, a potentially troubling finding given that beliefs about the social benefits of alcohol predict drinking in young people. These findings suggest that alcohol advertising might contribute to the formation of expectancies in young people, and that current self-regulation may not be an effective way to prevent alcohol advertising from appealing to people under the age of 21.
To provide a snapshot content analysis of social media marketing among leading alcohol brands in the UK, and to outline the implications for both regulatory policies and further research.
Using screengrab technology, the complete Facebook walls and Twitter timelines for 12 leading UK alcohol brands in November 2011 were captured and archived. A total of 701 brand-authored posts were identified and categorized using a thematic coding frame. Key strategic trends were identified and analysed in the light of contextual research into recent developments in marketing practice within the alcohol industry.
A number of dominating trends were identified. These included the use of real-world tie-ins, interactive games, competitions and time-specific suggestions to drink. These methods reflect a strategy of branded conversation-stimulus which is favoured by social media marketing agencies.
A number of distinct marketing methods are deployed by alcohol brands when using social media. These may undermine policies which seek to change social norms around drinking, especially the normalization of daily consumption. Social media marketing also raises questions regarding the efficacy of reactive regulatory frameworks. Further research into both the nature and impact of alcohol marketing on social media is needed.
Spending on non-traditional media such as point-of-purchase advertising and promotions continues to increase. Pro-alcohol messages are a concern since, alcohol advertising is positively associated with drinking and related problems. This is one of the first studies that assesses alcohol advertising and promotions at retail outlets. Within a census of alcohol outlets in 10 ethnically diverse urban California communities, alcohol advertising was found to be prevalent in stores and on the outside of restaurants and bars. Independently owned stores had the highest prevalence of advertisements. Alcohol and alcohol advertisements were commonly placed where youths were likely to see them. Models of color and cultural icons were frequently used to target advertisements to specific ethnic groups. Point-of-purchase advertising appears to be used to aggressively market alcohol and contribute to a pro-alcohol environment. Efforts to decrease and counteract this largely unregulated form of alcohol advertising seem warranted.
Background and aims:
To identify the nature of visual alcohol references in alcohol advertisements during televised broadcasts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament matches and to evaluate cross-national differences according to alcohol marketing policy restrictiveness.
Design:
Content analysis using the Delphi method and identification of in-game sponsorships.
Setting:
Television broadcasts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup from 8 countries.
Cases:
87 alcohol advertisements; 20 matches.
Measurements:
Quantitative rating scales, combined with the Delphi rating technique, were used to determine compliance of the alcohol ads with the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking's (IARD) Guiding Principles. Recordings of 5 matches from 4 countries were also used to identify the number of in-game and out-of-game alcohol brand appearances.
Findings:
86.2% of all unique alcohol advertisements contained at least 1 violation of IARD's Guiding Principles, with violation rates ranging from 72.7% (Mexico) to 100% (Brazil). Countries with the least restrictive marketing policies had a higher prevalence of violations in guidelines designed to protect minors. There were 2.76 in-game alcohol brand appearances and 0.83 out-of-game alcohol brand appearances per minute. Brand appearances did not differ across countries or according to a country's marketing policy restrictiveness.
Conclusions:
Self-regulation and statutory policies were ineffective at limiting alcohol advertising during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Tournament television broadcasts in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Mexico, Spain, and the USA. Most ads contained content that violated the self-regulation codes, and there were high levels of within broadcast brand appearances.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to outline a method to improve alcohol industry compliance with its self-regulatory advertising placement guidelines on television with the goal of reducing youth exposure to noncompliant advertisements.
Method:
Data were sourced from Nielsen (The Nielsen Company, New York, NY) for all alcohol advertisements on television in the United States for 2005-2012. A "no-buy" list, that is a list of cable television programs and networks to be avoided when purchasing alcohol advertising, was devised using three criteria: avoid placements on programs that were noncompliant in the past (serially noncompliant), avoid placements on networks at times of day when youth make up a high proportion of the audience (high-risk network dayparts), and use a "guardbanded" (or more restrictive) composition guideline when placing ads on low-rated programs (low rated).
Results:
Youth were exposed to 15.1 billion noncompliant advertising impressions from 2005 to 2012, mostly on cable television. Together, the three no-buy list criteria accounted for 99% of 12.9 billion noncompliant advertising exposures on cable television for youth ages 2-20 years. When we evaluated the no-buy list criteria sequentially and mutually exclusively, serially noncompliant ads accounted for 67% of noncompliant exposure, high-risk network-daypart ads accounted for 26%, and low-rated ads accounted for 7%.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that the prospective use of the no-buy list criteria when purchasing alcohol advertising could eliminate most noncompliant advertising exposures and could be incorporated into standard post-audit procedures that are widely used by the alcohol industry in assessing exposure to television advertising.
Purpose:
To evaluate the momentary association between exposure to alcohol advertising and middle-school students' beliefs about alcohol in real-world settings and to explore racial/ethnic differences in this association.
Methods:
Middle-school students (N = 588) carried handheld data collection devices for 14 days, recording their exposures to all forms of alcohol advertising during the assessment period. Students also responded to three investigator-initiated control prompts (programmed to occur randomly) on each day of the assessment period. After each exposure to advertising and at each control prompt, students reported their beliefs about alcohol. Mixed-effects regression models compared students' beliefs about alcohol between moments of exposure to alcohol advertising and control prompts.
Results:
Students perceived the typical person their age who drinks alcohol (prototype perceptions) more favorably and perceived alcohol use as more normative at times of exposure to alcohol advertising than at times of nonexposure (i.e., at control prompts). Exposure to alcohol advertising was not associated with shifts in the perceived norms of black and Hispanic students, however, and the association between exposure and prototype perceptions was stronger among non-Hispanic students than among Hispanic students.
Conclusions:
Exposure to alcohol advertising is associated with acute shifts in adolescents' perceptions of the typical person that drinks alcohol and the normativeness of drinking. These associations are both statistically and substantively meaningful.
Endogenous targeting of alcohol advertisements presents a challenge for empirically identifying a causal effect of advertising on drinking. Drinkers prefer a particular media; firms recognize this and target alcohol advertising at these media. This paper overcomes this challenge by utilizing novel data with detailed individual measures of media viewing and alcohol consumption and three separate empirical techniques, which represent significant improvements over previous methods. First, controls for the average audience characteristics of the media an individual views account for attributes of magazines and television programs alcohol firms may consider when deciding where to target advertising. A second specification directly controls for each television program and magazine a person views. The third method exploits variation in advertising exposure due to a 2003 change in an industry-wide rule that governs where firms may advertise. Although the unconditional correlation between advertising and drinking by youth (ages 18–24) is strong, models that include simple controls for targeting imply, at most, a modest advertising effect. Although the coefficients are estimated less precisely, estimates with models including more rigorous controls for targeting indicate no significant effect of advertising on youth drinking. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Objective:
Recently published research has identified the alcohol brands most frequently consumed by underage youth. The present study examines alcohol magazine advertising in 2011 to report age- and sex-specific exposure to advertisements for these brands in contrast with other magazine advertising brands less popular with youth.
Method:
We licensed magazine advertising occurrence data from Nielsen and magazine audience data from the research company GfK MRI (Growth from Knowledge, Mediamark Research & Intelligence) for national full-run editions for 2011. We contrasted per capita advertising exposure, considering different age- and sex-specific groups, for popular youth brands versus all other magazine brands. For each brand, we reported the age group receiving the highest level of per capita advertising exposure, as well as other age groups within 10% of that peak level.
Results:
Underage males ages 18-20 were the most heavily exposed age group for 11 of the top 25 brands they consumed and were within 10% of the most heavily exposed group for another 6 brands. Underage females ages 18-20 were most heavily exposed for 16 of the top 25 brands they consumed and were within 10% of the most heavily exposed group for another 2 brands. In contrast, those ages 18-20 were the most heavily exposed group for fewer than 10% of the remaining 308 magazine advertising brands for either sex.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest a relationship between advertising exposure and youth alcohol brand consumption. Current alcohol industry self-regulatory codes may not be sufficiently protective of youth.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between measures of awareness to marketing and drinking among a sample of young people in New Zealand. The sample consisted of 1302 males and 1236 females predominantly aged between 13 and 14 years and drawn from a number of schools in a metropolitan city. They were surveyed using a computer assisted telephone interview.
Regression analyses examined relationships between marketing (awareness of and engagement with a range of alcohol marketing channels) and reports of brand allegiance and drinking status, drinking frequency and quantity and future drinking intentions.
The results showed that awareness of each alcohol marketing channel increased the odds of being a drinker by 8%. Engagement with web-based marketing increased the odds of being a drinker by 98% while engagement with traditional marketing increased the odds by 51%. Brand allegiance increased the odds of being a drinker by 356% and increased the likelihood of non-drinkers reporting future drinking intentions (by 73%). Brand allegiance was also associated with more frequent alcohol consumption (1.65 times more drinking occasions per year) and 86% more alcohol consumed on a typical occasion.
The results suggest that, while exposure to all forms of marketing are associated with drinking by young people, measures of more active engagement, such as owning merchandise and downloading screensavers are stronger predictors of drinking. Having established a brand allegiance, at this early age, was related to not only drinking and future intentions to drink but also drinking patterns including consuming larger quantities.
The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which members of the UK general public perceive television alcohol advertisements to comply with the regulatory code governing these: the Advertising Standards Authority Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code). The Code provides a general principle and 16 rules to prevent such adverts implying, condoning or encouraging immoderate, irresponsible or anti-social drinking.
Quota sample of 373 adults, representative of the UK population aged 18-74 years in terms of age and gender, were recruited at a train station. Participants were shown one of seven advertisements that had been broadcast in the previous month on the two leading commercial television channels, and then completed a questionnaire with 40 statements representing the BCAP Code rules.
Overall, 75% of the participants rated the advertisements as breaching at least one rule from the BCAP Code. Breaches were observed for all the seven advertisements, ranging from 49 to 91% non-compliant. Rules regarding alcohol being presented as contributing to popularity or confidence, and implying that alcohol is capable of changing mood, physical condition, behaviour, or as nourishment, were seen as being breached by over 50% of participants.
A clear majority of the UK general public perceive alcohol advertisements to breach the BCAP Code, suggesting that the current regulatory system for UK television alcohol advertisements is inadequate.
Background:
This research provides an estimate of the frequency of company-sponsored alcohol brand-related sites on Facebook™.
Objectives:
We conducted a systematic overview of the extent of alcohol brand-related sites on Facebook™ in 2012.
Methods:
We conducted a 2012 Facebook™ search for sites specifically related to 898 alcohol brands across 16 different alcoholic beverage types. Descriptive statistics were produced using Microsoft SQL Server.
Results:
We identified 1,017 company-sponsored alcohol-brand related sites on Facebook™.
Conclusions:
Our study advances previous literature by providing a systematic overview of the extent of alcohol brand sites on Facebook™.
Youth exposure to alcohol marketing has been linked to increased alcohol consumption and problems. On relatively new and highly interactive social networking sites (SNS) that are popular with youth, tools for measuring youth exposure to alcohol marketing in traditional media are inadequate. We critically review the existing policies of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube designed to keep branded alcohol content away from underage youth. Looking at brand and user activity on Facebook for the 15 alcohol brands most popular among US youth, we found activity has grown dramatically in the past 3 years, and underage users may be accounting for some of this activity. Surveys of youth and adult participation in alcohol marketing on SNS will be needed to inform debate over these marketing practices.Journal of Public Health Policy advance online publication, 28 November 2013; doi:10.1057/jphp.2013.45.
We review programs and policies to prevent children from accessing alcohol marketing online. To update the literature, we present our recent studies that assess (i) in-built barriers to underage access to alcohol brand websites and (ii) commercial internet filters. Alcohol websites typically had poor filter systems for preventing entry of underage persons; only half of the sites required the user to provide a date of birth, and none had any means of preventing users from trying again. Even the most effective commercial internet filters allowed access to one-third of the sites we examined.Journal of Public Health Policy advance online publication, 21 November 2013;doi:10.1057/jphp.2013.46.
Objectives:
We analyzed beer, spirits, and alcopop magazine advertisements to determine adherence to federal and voluntary advertising standards. We assessed the efficacy of these standards in curtailing potentially damaging content and protecting public health.
Methods:
We obtained data from a content analysis of a census of 1795 unique advertising creatives for beer, spirits, and alcopops placed in nationally available magazines between 2008 and 2010. We coded creatives for manifest content and adherence to federal regulations and industry codes.
Results:
Advertisements largely adhered to existing regulations and codes. We assessed only 23 ads as noncompliant with federal regulations and 38 with industry codes. Content consistent with the codes was, however, often culturally positive in terms of aspirational depictions. In addition, creatives included degrading and sexualized images, promoted risky behavior, and made health claims associated with low-calorie content.
Conclusions:
Existing codes and regulations are largely followed regarding content but do not adequately protect against content that promotes unhealthy and irresponsible consumption and degrades potentially vulnerable populations in its depictions. Our findings suggest further limitations and enhanced federal oversight may be necessary to protect public health.
Objectives:
We evaluated advertising code violations using the US Beer Institute guidelines for responsible advertising.
Methods:
We applied the Delphi rating technique to all beer ads (n = 289) broadcast in national markets between 1999 and 2008 during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament games. Fifteen public health professionals completed ratings using quantitative scales measuring the content of alcohol advertisements (e.g., perceived actor age, portrayal of excessive drinking) according to 1997 and 2006 versions of the Beer Institute Code.
Results:
Depending on the code version, exclusion criteria, and scoring method, expert raters found that between 35% and 74% of the ads had code violations. There were significant differences among producers in the frequency with which ads with violations were broadcast, but not in the proportions of unique ads with violations. Guidelines most likely to be violated included the association of beer drinking with social success and the use of content appealing to persons younger than 21 years.
Conclusions:
The alcohol industry's current self-regulatory framework is ineffective at preventing content violations but could be improved by the use of new rating procedures designed to better detect content code violations.
Current controversy regarding the target marketing of alcohol billboards in Latino communities, alongside recent trends in alcohol consumption patterns among Mexican Americans, has led to concern about the impact of exposure to such advertising on the drinking behaviors of Mexican American youth. This study addresses this issue by evaluating the images depicted on alcohol billboards and examining the resultant relationship between exposure and beliefs. This relationship is examined within the framework of Bandura's social cognitive theory. To determine the prevalent themes on alcohol billboards surrounding a public high school in Chicago, Illinois, a content analysis was performed. Subsequently, the findings were incorporated into a survey examining beliefs and social perceptions regarding drinking among Mexican American high school students. Results suggest that one retention measure - brand exposure - and acceptance of positive themes related to drinking are associated with more positive attitudes toward drinking.
The authors examine the content of magazine advertising for cigarettes, beer, and nonalcoholic beverages from July 1996 to July 1997. A total of 476 advertisements (239 unique advertisements)from 12 different magazines were content-analyzed. In light of the ongoing debate and recent proposals over the regulation of tobacco and alcohol advertising aimed at young people, the purpose was to answer two principal questions: (I) whether the advertisements for cigarettes and beer contain more cartoons and animated characters than do advertisements for nonalcoholic beverages and (2) whether the presence of human models in an advertisement's visuals is an adequate way to operationalize a lifestyle advertisement. The authors also replicate and extend previous research regarding the amount and type of extrinsic appeal or lifestyle advertising found in these product categories. Significantly more lifestyle content appeared in cigarette advertisements than in nonalcoholic beverage advertisements. Furthermore. a disproportionate number of cartoon characters in cigarette advertisements appeared in magazines with a higher share of younger readers, consistent with policy concerns regarding the use of such cartoon characters to appeal to youth markets. Also, 8.8% of advertisements that were classified as lifestyle advertisements did not contain recognizable human models. An implication of this finding is that the original tobacco settlement proposal to eliminate lifestyle content of cigarette and beer advertisements simply by eliminating models was inadequate to achieve its intended purpose.
The role of alcoholic beverage advertising in alcohol consumption and in changes in drinking patterns has received considerable attention from alcohol researchers in countries with temperance traditions but none in Italy. This paper is a content analysis of alcoholic beverage advertising in a sample of 41 Italian television advertisements, taped from six national television channels. Beer in advertisements was consumed primarily outside the home and not at meals. Wine was shown as being drunk at meals in a convivial framework, with no representation of everyday domestic consumption. Advertisements for sparkling wine show consumption in a context of celebration, and often, as in advertisements for aperitifs, with erotic overtones. From the advertisements for digestive liqueurs, the makers appear to be trying to move to a younger market. Some advertising seems directed specifically at women, whose consumption has declined in Italy in recent years. In general, alcohol advertisers seem to be attempting to move alcohol consumption into new situations beyond the traditional mealtime table.
Purpose
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern regarding alcohol consumption and related harms in developing nations. Concomitantly a growing evidence base suggests that alcohol marketing influences drinking behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to explore how critical social marketing can help assess the nature of alcohol marketing, and the effectiveness of its regulation, in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 14 alcohol marketing campaigns from India, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand are assessed against the regulatory codes governing alcohol marketing in the UK.
Findings
The study found that alcohol marketing often contravened the UK regulatory codes. Critical social marketing offers a framework for research and analysis to assess the nature and impact of alcohol marketing, and to address alcohol related harms in developing countries.
Research limitations/implications
This exploratory study is limited to a small convenience sample. Future research to systematically audit alcohol marketing, and consumer studies to assess its impact on drinking behaviours in developing nations would be welcomed.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that initiatives to monitor and effectively regulate alcohol marketing in developing nations should be explored by policymakers. The competitive analysis and insight generated by studies of this nature can aid development agencies in the design and implementation of alcohol social marketing interventions. The global alcohol industry and marketers should also be encouraged to act more socially responsible.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into how the critical social marketing framework can be applied in practice, to inform social marketing activity in the upstream and downstream environment.
Regulators may attempt to reduce youth exposure to alcohol advertising by restricting times during which alcohol ads may be aired on television or radio. The Netherlands introduced such a policy and found that teenage advertising exposure increased following the time restrictions. This study uses simulation analysis and a comprehensive database of television alcohol advertising to demonstrate that time restrictions are likely to reduce advertising exposure to t he youngest viewers while increasing exposure for the high-risk teenage population.
To assess the content of alcohol advertising in youth-oriented U.S. magazines, with specific attention to subject matter pertaining to risk and sexual connotations and to youth exposure to these ads.
This study consisted of a content analysis of a census of 1,261 unique alcohol advertisements ("creatives") recurring 2,638 times ("occurrences") in 11 U.S. magazines with disproportionately youthful readerships between 2003 and 2007. Advertisements were assessed for content relevant to injury, overconsumption, addiction, and violations of industry guidelines (termed "risk" codes), as well as for sexism and sexual activity.
During the 5-year study period, more than one-quarter of occurrences contained content pertaining to risk, sexism, or sexual activity. Problematic content was concentrated in a minority of brands, mainly beer and spirits brands. Those brands with higher youth-to-adult viewership ratios were significantly more likely to have a higher percentage of occurrences with addiction content and violations of industry guidelines. Ads with violations of industry guidelines were more likely to be found in magazines with higher youth readerships.
The prevalence of problematic content in magazine alcohol advertisements is concentrated in advertising for beer and spirits brands, and violations of industry guidelines and addiction content appear to increase with the size of youth readerships, suggesting that individuals aged <21 years may be more likely to see such problematic content than adults.
Since its debut five years ago, Facebook has grown exponentially to include colleges and universities, high school and business networks, along with the general public around the globe. In that same time, Facebook also changed its advertising policies and regulations from not offering online advertising to soliciting paid advertisements for products and services including alcohol products. Although the company's policy requires paid advertisements for alcohol to include age restrictions, the policy is not enforced by Facebook, nor does the restriction requirement apply to other sources of alcohol content throughout Facebook. For this article, we explored the prevalence of alcohol-related content found in popular aspects of Facebook profiles. We also identified aspects of Facebook that contain a great deal of alcohol content and are accessible by anyone, regardless of age. We offer recommendations for both Facebook and the alcohol industry to remove paid ads and other types of content promoting alcohol products and dangerous drinking behaviors in order to protect youth and young adults from the harmful effects of alcohol advertising.
Restrictions on alcohol advertising have increasingly become an issue for debate around the world. Some countries rely on governmental regulation, whereas others, including Australia, utilise a system of industry self-regulation. This study calls into question the effectiveness of the alcohol beverage industry's self-regulation of advertising in Australia.
Between May 1998 and April 1999, 11 alcohol advertising complaints (relating to nine separate advertisements) were lodged with the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) by members of the general public. In Phase One of the present study, eight marketing academics (‘expert judges’) were asked, without knowing the ASB's rulings, to judge whether the advertisement(s) breached any of the clauses of the Australian Association of National Advertisers' Code of Ethics or Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code. In Phase Two, the same ads were similarly assessed by a group of second-year advertising students at an Australian university (‘student judges’).
A majority of the expert judges perceived breaches of the Codes for seven of the nine advertisements. For all nine of the advertisements, a majority of the university students felt that each of the ads was in breach of one or more of the Codes of Practice. The ASB had ruled that none of the ads breached any of the Codes.
There is a clear discrepancy between our judges and members of the ASB with respect to interpretations of the Codes of Practice. Given that our judges were not biased against alcohol advertising and self-regulation, it appears that ASB members may lack objectivity (or expertise) in their assessments of complaints. Furthermore, consumers who contact the ASB prior to submitting a written complaint are provided with copies of recent decision records, namely 11 out of 11 complaints rejected in this case. It may well be that this information would discourage many complainants from proceeding. This potentially inhibitory practice, as well as our ‘failure to replicate’ the ASB's decisions, lead us to question whether ethical responsibility is being met by the self-regulatory system for alcohol advertising. Copyright
With the objective of examining adolescents' and young adults' exposure to alcohol advertising in Brazil as well as the relationship between exposure and heavy alcohol consumption, 3007 subjects were selected through a multistage cluster sample procedure from households in 143 municipalities in all Brazilian states and interviewed between November 2005 and April 2006. Data presented here come from a subsample of 1091 interviews with adolescents (661 with 14–17 years old) and young adults (430 with 18–25 years old), and were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, alcohol advertising exposure and exposure to prevention messages. The authors observed that 61% of the sample reported exposure to alcohol advertising in different media, from ‘almost every day’ to ‘more than once a day’ in the previous month. 12% reported seeing an alcohol prevention message. Participating in alcohol promotions in pubs, restaurants or the internet was reported by 10.7% of the adolescents and was significantly associated with patterns of high intensity drinking. Adolescents were as exposed as, and sometimes more, than young adults, leading the authors to conclude that youngsters were heavily exposed to alcohol marketing messages.
Copyright
Alcohol advertising during sporting broadcasts, as well as the sponsorship of sporting events by the alcohol industry, is common practice in Australia, as in many other countries. The strength of the association between alcohol and sports prompts consideration of the potential for children who watch televised sport to be exposed to a considerable amount of alcohol advertising, and to learn to associate alcohol with sport and sporting success. This paper reviews the current alcohol advertising regulations in Australia, particularly in reference to the protection of children. It then details a pair of studies designed to examine the extent and nature of alcohol advertising during sporting telecasts, and the potential effects on young people. The first, a frequency and content analysis of advertising during two popular Australian sports final series, found that alcohol advertising (particularly during a sporting competition with alcohol company sponsors) is extensive and contains both features known to be appealing to children and messages which could be interpreted as associating alcohol consumption with social and sporting success. The second, a qualitative study with grade 5 and 6 primary school students, found that young people have a high awareness of the alcohol sponsors and alcohol brands advertised during these sporting telecasts, and associate these products with sport and with positive personal characteristics and outcomes.
Copyright
There is substantial evidence that children and youth are exposed to and recall alcohol advertising, and increasing evidence of associations between liking alcohol advertisements and under-age drinking. Alcohol advertising in Australia, as in many industrialized countries, is subject to a self-regulatory code developed and administered by the alcohol industry. The purpose of the current study was to investigate young people’s perceptions of the messages in recent alcohol advertisements and whether these perceptions support the industry view that self-regulation is effective in protecting young people from inappropriate messages about alcohol. Six print and six television advertisements were selected for the study, and 287 respondents aged 15–24 years viewed two alcohol advertisements (one print and one television) and completed a questionnaire immediately after viewing each advertisement. The respondents perceived messages in the advertisements regarding several social benefits of consuming alcohol, including that the advertised product would make them more sociable and outgoing, help them have a great time, help them fit in, help them feel more confident, help them feel less nervous, and help them succeed with the opposite sex. All of these messages transgress the terms of the self-regulatory code for alcohol advertising. There was also a strong association between emotional responses to the advertisements and stated intentions to try the advertised products.
Introduction and Aims. Current alcohol guidelines in Australia recommend minimising alcohol consumption, especially among minors. This study investigated (i) the extent to which children and the general population are exposed to television advertisements that endorse alcohol consumption and (ii) the themes used in these advertisements.
Design and Methods. A content analysis was conducted on alcohol advertisements aired over two months in major Australian cities. The advertisements were coded according to the products that were promoted, the themes that were employed, and the time of exposure. Advertising placement expenditure was also captured.
Results. In total, 2810 alcohol advertisements were aired, representing one in 10 beverage advertisements. Advertisement placement expenditure for alcohol products in the five cities over the two months was $15.8 million. Around half of all alcohol advertisements appeared during children's popular viewing times. The most common themes used were humour, friendship/mateship and value for money.
Discussion and Conclusions. Children and adults are regularly exposed to advertisements that depict alcohol consumption as fun, social and inexpensive. Such messages may reinforce existing alcohol-related cultural norms that prevent many Australians from meeting current intake guidelines.[Pettigrew S, Roberts M, Pescud M, Chapman K, Quester P, Miller C. The extent and nature of alcohol advertising on Australian television. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:797–802]
We investigated the frequency of alcohol ads at all 113 subway and streetcar stations in Boston and the patterns of community exposure stratified by race, socioeconomic status, and age.
We assessed the extent of alcohol advertising at each station in May 2009. We measured gross impressions and gross rating points (GRPs) for the entire Greater Boston population and for Boston public school student commuters. We compared the frequency of alcohol advertising between neighborhoods with differing demographics.
For the Greater Boston population, alcohol advertising at subway stations generated 109 GRPs on a typical day. For Boston public school students in grades 5 to 12, alcohol advertising at stations generated 134 GRPs. Advertising at stations in low-poverty neighborhoods generated 14.1 GRPs and at stations in high-poverty areas, 63.6 GRPs.
Alcohol ads reach the equivalent of every adult in the Greater Boston region and the equivalent of every 5th- to 12th-grade public school student each day. More alcohol ads were displayed in stations in neighborhoods with high poverty rates than in stations in neighborhoods with low poverty rates.
Underage drinking is a major problem in Australia and may be influenced by exposure to alcohol advertising. The objective of the present study was to collect data on 12-17 year old Australian adolescents' exposure to different types of alcohol advertising and examine the association between exposure to advertising and alcohol consumption.
A cross-sectional survey of 1113 adolescents aged 12-17 years recruited with a variety of methods to gain a cross-section of participants across metropolitan, regional and rural New South Wales (including independent schools, mall intercepts and online). Participants answered a series of questions assessing adolescents' exposure to alcohol advertising across eight media (including television, Internet and point-of-sale). Alcohol consumption was assessed using three questions (initiation, recent consumption and frequency of consumption in the previous 12 months).
The majority indicated that they had been exposed to alcohol advertisements on television, in newspapers and magazines, on the Internet, on billboards/posters and promotional materials and in bottleshops, bars and pubs; exposure to some of these types of alcohol advertisements was associated with increased alcohol consumption, with differences by age and gender.
The results are consistent with studies from other countries and suggest that exposure to alcohol advertisements among Australian adolescents is strongly associated with drinking patterns. Given current high levels of drinking among Australian youth, these findings suggest the need to address the high levels of young people's exposure to alcohol advertising.
We investigated the frequency with which alcohol advertisements appeared on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) transit lines in Boston, MA, and we calculated adult and youths' exposure to the ads.
We measured the nature and extent of alcohol advertisements on 4 Boston transit lines on 2 separate weekdays 1 month apart in June and July of 2008. We calculated weekday ad exposure for all passengers (all ages) and for Boston Public School student passengers (aged 11-18 years).
Alcohol ads were viewed an estimated 1,212,960 times across all Boston-area transit passengers during an average weekday, reaching the equivalent of 42.7% of that population. Alcohol ads were viewed an estimated 18,269 times by Boston Public School student transit passengers during an average weekday, reaching the equivalent of 54.1% of that population.
Advertisers reached the equivalent of half of all Boston Public School transit passengers aged 11 to 18 years and the equivalent of nearly half of all transit passengers in the Boston area with an alcohol advertisement each day. Because of the high exposure of underage youths to alcohol advertisements, we recommend that the MBTA prohibit alcohol advertising on the Boston transit system.