Children as young as 10 years old are highly familiar with alcohol brands and televised alcohol advertising. New research by England’s alcohol charity Alcohol Concern shows that many children are more familiar with brands of beer than with leading brands of biscuits, crisps and ice-cream.
Alcohol Concern’s survey of 800 primary school pupils shows football clubs and tournaments are strongly associated with the beer brands that sponsor them, particularly by boys.
Existing advertising codes for alcohol are designed to prevent targeting of under-18s, but children appear to be consuming high volumes of alcohol marketing nevertheless. The report suggests that more effective controls may be needed to ensure alcohol marketing messages only reach adult audiences. Alcohol Concern specifically calls for the phased removal of alcohol sponsorship, for cinema advertising to be restricted to 18-certificate films and a TV watershed.
Tom Smith, Alcohol Concern’s head of policy told the BBC: “This research shows just how many of our children are being exposed to alcohol marketing, with an even bigger impact being made on those children with an interest in sport. (…) Children get bombarded with pro-drinking messages, when they turn on the TV, go to the cinema or walk down the road, and the existing codes are failing to protect them.
See the report, Children’s recognition of alcohol marketing>>
Source: BBC.com 02/05/15
