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Alcohol ad bans not ‘evidence-based’
A new report has revealed alcohol industry advertising spend has “no effect” on the amount that people drink, claiming there is “remarkably little evidence” to support ad bans.
Think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has released its Alcohol Advertising: What does the evidence show? report, which has highlighted the lack of evidence that alcohol advertising bans impact alcohol consumption.
Between 1991 to 2001, alcohol advertising decreased by 10.8% in Great Britain, yet alcohol consumption increased by 15.8%.
In March this year, a proposed crackdown on Scotland’s alcohol marketing was introduced, aimed at stopping children and vulnerable people from being influenced by alcohol advertising.
In April, new first minister Humza Yousaf confirmed that the Scottish government will drop its current proposals to ban alcohol advertising in Scotland, and will “go back to the drawing board” to create new proposals in partnership with industry and health stakeholders.
Released today (27 July), IEA’s report disputes public health campaigners’ claims that alcohol advertising bans could help ‘reduce sales and, by implication, associated harm’.
Christopher Snowdon, report author and head of lifestyle economics at the IEA, said: “The claim that banning alcohol advertising would reduce the amount of alcohol-related harm in society has remarkably little evidence to support it.
“Advertising affects the market share of individual brands, but the amount of money spent on alcohol advertising has no effect on alcohol consumption overall. This is how advertising works in every other mature market, and it would be a surprise if alcohol were any different.”
Snowdon also referred to a study of alcohol advertising in the US, which concluded that “brand-level spirits advertising results only in brand switching, and does not increase the size of the spirits market”.
“Strident claims from anti-alcohol campaigners about advertising should be taken with a pinch of salt,” he continued. “This evidence review found that only a few high-quality studies have looked at this issue, and the evidence is, at best, mixed. A ban on alcohol advertising would certainly not be an evidence-based policy.”
Snowdon also pointed out that that alcohol producers pay for advertising to persuade drinkers to switch from rival products, not to increase overall consumption.
He added that economic studies have tended to find a lack of association between advertising spending levels and consumption across countries, which are likely driven by cultural factors.