Friday, 10 Jan 2025, By Dimitri O’Donnell, RTÉ News
Alcohol Action Ireland said the ban is long overdue
The watershed ban ensures a daytime broadcasting ban on alcohol advertising, with no advertisements for alcohol products on television from 3am to 9pm, and on radio on weekdays from 3pm to 10am the following morning. The new rules come into effect under Section 19 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA) and seven years after being signed into law. Campaigners hope the new measures will help to reduce the level of exposure of alcohol marketing to children, which is considered a key driver of initiating alcohol use by children.
Alcohol Action Ireland said the ban is long overdue as Ireland is still drinking at a level 40% higher than HSE lower-risk guidelines. “Ireland is rightly praised internationally for its leadership in passing the PHAA, which is a suite of quite modest measures designed to provide some degree of protection from the tactics of an aggressive industry acting against the population’s health through relentless marketing,” said Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland. ”AAI and many others have strongly campaigned for years for its introduction and since it was passed alcohol consumption per capita has dropped by 10%, which is positive,” she added. However, alcohol is estimated to kill more than 1,500 people every year.
Alcohol Action Ireland said the ban is long overdue as Ireland is still drinking at a level 40% higher than HSE lower-risk guidelines. “Ireland is rightly praised internationally for its leadership in passing the PHAA, which is a suite of quite modest measures designed to provide some degree of protection from the tactics of an aggressive industry acting against the population’s health through relentless marketing,” said Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland.
”AAI and many others have strongly campaigned for years for its introduction and since it was passed alcohol consumption per capita has dropped by 10%, which is positive,” she added. However, alcohol is estimated to kill more than 1,500 people every year. Alcohol Action Ireland said not all sections of the PHAA have come into force despite the progress in implementing the new alcohol advertising rules. ”[This] shows the power of the alcohol industry’s lobbying efforts to stymie and delay progress,” Dr Gilheany said.
The two further sections of the act in relation to advertising that remain to be commenced are Section 13 which places restrictions on the content of alcohol advertisements and Section 18 which relates to advertisements in publications.
AAI said Section 13, in particular, is ferociously resisted by the industry as it restricts the content of alcohol advertisements to facts, stripping out the industry myths which are used to promote alcohol consumption. In addition, ads for alcohol products will be required to include health information such as cancer warnings and details of the HSE alcohol information website, with the aim of providing unbiased material about alcohol risks and to break the positive associations between alcohol and lifestyle.
“The different sections of the PHAA are designed to complement one another and the legislation’s public health benefits will only be fully realised when all the sections are enforced,” Dr Gilheany said. “With Ireland still drinking at a level 40% higher than HSE lower-risk guidelines, this is an imperative,” she added. The organisation said there appears to be no progress in Section 13 being progressed by the Department of Health. ”Even if commenced today, it will take three years before the section is enforced, so that would be a ten-year delay on legislation that was signed into law in 2018,” Dr Gilheany said.
AAI has called on the incoming government to fully implement all sections of the PHAA, adding that polling has suggested that more than 70% are in favour of controls on alcohol. It said that at least 50,000 children start to drink every year. However, Drinks Industry Ireland said attitudes toward alcohol are changing.
“Alcohol consumption trends have been changing for some time in Ireland and the progress made needs to be recognised. Per capita alcohol consumption in Ireland has decreased by around 30% in the last 20 years, with clear trends showing that people are seeking more balance in how they drink and choosing more premium products, ” said Cormac Healy, Director of Drinks Ireland.
Campaigners say there are some major flaws in the legislation. Drinks companies will still be able to advertise their non-alcoholic beverages on TV and radio during daytime hours, a clear loophole, which health experts says needs to be addressed. AAI said Ireland should follow the example of Norway where there is a complete ban on alcohol advertising. ”If you want to advertise a zero zero product there you have to use a completely different brand,” said Dr Gilheany.
Two other key parts of the legislation are yet to be implemented in relation to advertisements in publications and ads targeted at young people on social media platforms. AAI has claimed that Diageo is currently the fourth biggest advertiser to children in Ireland.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Diageo said it never targets its advertising towards children. ”We take our responsibility as a producer of adult products very seriously. We are subject to some of the strictest regulations of advertising in the world and comply with the legislation in place, including the PHAA, and advertising and broadcasting codes including BAI, ASAI and Copy Clear.”
The National Youth Council has also supported calls to take the legislation further, because, it said young people are especially at risk to harmful exposure of alcohol advertising. ”Advertising in general is a constant wallpaper in young peoples’ lives. They’re seeing it from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep and that contributes to unhealthy levels of consumption,” Kathryn Walsh of the National Youth Council of Ireland said. ”Early intervention is possible and that’s why we need to be looking at advertising and marketing of commodities to children and young people must be addressed not just on broadcast media but also on digital media where we know that young people are living and engaging with on a daily basis and being targeted.”