23rd March, 2021, by Siân Smith, campaign admin assistant at the Alcohol Health Alliance. From Alcohol Health Alliance.
The World Health Organization has concluded that bans and restrictions on alcohol marketing are some of the best and most affordable policies to reduce alcohol-related harm. But what impact is alcohol marketing having on those in recovery in the UK right now? 
Michaela Jones, who has been in recovery for 11 years says: “Alcohol is a part of everyday life for adults, an idea that is fostered in the minds of children who count down the moments until they can have their first legal drink at the age of 18. This, coupled with its abundance and affordability, has made drinking so ubiquitous that choosing not to drink is met with confusion and the very idea of sobriety has become a difficult thing to understand”. She continues by stating that alcohol marketing creates a narrative justifying people drinking and expresses her concern about the effect of this encouraging culture on those in early recovery or active addiction trying to get sober.
“Because alcohol is so engrained in our cultural activities, those in recovery or active addiction often have to remove themselves from everyday situation to help their recovery”.
She suggests that what could be done lies in the way alcohol marketing depicts such activity; eventually, governmental campaigns and public health messages should clearly show how alcohol marketing creates a positive narrative which is different from reality: alcohol plays a causal factor in more than 200 different diseases and injuries and in seven types of cancer whilst research finds that 25-50% of perpetrators of domestic abuse have been drinking at the time of the assault, and in some studies, this is as high as 73%.
Michaela also points out how detrimental the pandemic has been for alcohol harm while the UK government was placing huge emphasis on alcohol-related industries and opening pubs before gyms and schools.
To read the full article click on the following link: https://ahauk.org/how-does-alcohol-marketing-impact-recovery/.