After a long battle to retain the ban on televised alcohol marketing, it looks like Norway will have to drop the ban shortly now that the European Commission has gotten involved. The Norse government recently received a letter from European Commission’s Vice-President, Neelie Kroes stating that they have no choice but to adopt the new … Read More →

For years the Sri Lankan ban on televised alcohol and tobacco marketing has been circumvented by broadcasters and producers. One of the ways they did this, was by using mosaics or blurred images to mask tobacco and alcohol products in television programs. Now, a series of new regulations will further restrict the use of these … Read More →

Lately a string of media attention has paid critical attention to the level of alcohol industry influence over British Government policy. It all began with the revelation in the BBC television series Panorama, that industry representation on the Government and Partners Alcohol Working Group had in recent times grown from a few up to almost … Read More →

A YouTube campaign for the alcoholic beverage Cell featuring free-runner Tim Shieff is declared as being in breach of the British voluntary Advertising Code by the self regulated Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This because the campaign is attractive to minors, depicts people clearly under the age of 25 and because it links an alcohol product … Read More →

A new study has revealed how the alcohol industry is using its Australian Drinkwise organization to create an impression of social responsibility while promoting measures for which there is little evidence of impact and are unlikely to hurt profits. A research team from Deakin University’s School of Psychology examined submissions to the Australian National Preventative … Read More →

President Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation has signed off on a bill that officially labels beer as an alcoholic product instead of a foodstuff. This redefined status of beer will result in the product being subjected to the same regulations as spirits which means restricting the locations where beer can be sold and banning … Read More →

A new study conducted by the Australian University of Wollongong comes to the same conclusion as similar studies conducted in other countries: exposure to alcohol advertisements among adolescents is strongly associated with drinking patterns. In the article the authors point to the current high levels of alcohol consumption among Australian youth and underline the need … Read More →

The South African government is proceeding with plans to impose a ban on alcohol marketing. Critics point at the financial consequences of the ban to make the government rethink their strategy. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi earlier this year stated that he would put on a fight to ban all forms of tobacco and alcohol advertising. … Read More →

Heineken and Google have started a global partnership which will see the international beer producer increase its YouTube activity. The deal also sets out to use mobile internet as primary marketing channel in emerging markets. This new deal will very likely mean that at least 103 million minors around the world will be exposed to … Read More →

The study published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows a link between underage drinkers’ brand preferences and marketing expenditures. This points to a marketing influence on young people’s choice of alcoholic beverages. Also, higher rates of binge drinking (defined as 5 or more drinks at one sitting) among adolescents who had a favorite … Read More →