19th of February by Alcohol Healthwatch.
Alcohol harm reduction advocates are calling for an end to alcohol advertisers writing the rules around advertising. Strong statutory standards on alcohol advertising are being demanded following research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
The research they refer to is by Dr Jackson’s and colleague’s analysis of three years of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) voluntary Code for Advertising and Promotion of Alcohol (the Code), finding 24% of complaint assessments were upheld, while 40% were settled.
The study found that more than one-half (58%) of the complaints relates to advertisements on social and digital media while 30% related to traditional media like TV, print and billboard advertisements.
“The ASA has failed and continues to fail to protect Māori from the harms of alcohol advertising and sponsorship. Evidence is clear that Māori rangatahi, tamariki and mokopuna are more exposed to harmful alcohol advertising than any other demographic and yet, they continue to persist with a failing system. The Standards and Code are biased, one-sided and racist”, says David Ratuu, a Māori warden, nominated in 2019 as Health Volunteer of the year for his help in reducing alcohol harm among Māori.
Dr Nicki Jackson, Executive Director of Alcohol Healthwatch, believes that responsibility for protecting our children and vulnerable people from harmful alcohol advertising should not be delegated to alcohol advertisers, and that it is clear that voluntary codes do not work. Accordingly, Dr. Jackson also thinks that these voluntary codes should be discarded as a way to protect children, in the first place.
To read the full article, click on the following link: https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/ineffective-voluntary-code-alcohol-advertising-must-be-scrapped.