14 December 2020 by Micheal Thorn
The advertising of alcohol, gambling and junk food, especially in sport and during children’s viewing times, has been contentious. With summer upon us, cricket is again swamped with these ads, exposing millions of kids to them and threatening their health and wellbeing. The release of new drinking guidelines calls into question the future of this kind of advertising.
Cricket is back for the summer. Well, sort of! The coronavirus is having its say about tours, scheduling, spectator attendance and broadcasting, but we are grateful that here in Australia there is a degree of normalcy about international cricket.
And yes, the booze, junk food and gambling ads are back, too.
Australians have repeatedly said they dislike these ads because in their opinion they do harm. Parents hate the advertising because they know it targets their children – the science shows this to be the case. Ideally, the ads should go.
Perhaps Cricket Australia might like to take note of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) announcement (8 December 2020) that it has adopted new guidelines to reduce the health risks from drinking alcohol. The purpose of these guidelines is to help consumers make informed decisions about their health.
The new guidelines are the result of an exhaustive four-year review by experts led by Sydney University’s Professor Kate Conigrave and reflect the latest evidence about alcohol’s toxicity. Two of the guidelines recommend the commencement of drinking by young people should be delayed as long as possible and cuts the recommended weekly intake of alcohol to a mere 100gms per week or ten standard drinks – about one litre of wine.
The alcohol industry disputes this, of course. No surprise there as they continue to engage in their science denialism.
Alcohol is responsible for almost 6,000 deaths annually (ignore the ABS mortality estimate because it only includes deaths that are alcohol-induced or alcohol-related recorded on a death certificate by a medical practitioner), 70,000 hospitalisations a year and is linked to more than 200 health conditions, including liver disease, suicide and cancer. These are massive social and economic costs.
To access the whole article: https://johnmenadue.com/cricket-australia-continues-to-feast-on-unhealthy-product-advertising/