Ban all alcohol advertising
2010 · Copenhagen, Denmark
NordAN General Assembly · 2010 · Copenhagen, Denmark
Alcohol is the number one killer of young people in Europé. It is far more devastation than illegal drugs and aids. About 60.000 young Europeans in the age between 15-29 dies too early every year. The members of NordAN urge the governments in the Nordic and Baltic countries to ban all advertising of alcohol to stop the negative development.
- Many other organizations and professionals also acts to limit the harm of alcohol in the same manner, says Outi Ojala, president of Nordic Alcohol and Policy Network.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (healthcare of children) demands strong action from the White House on tobacco and alcohol advertising this month and other medical associations over the world is already calling for action, continues Outi.
Some of the Nordic Countries has already tough limitations and Lithuania has decided to ban alcohol advertising from the year 2012. If we are going to reduce the numbers of young people getting killed and hurt we have to act.
Based on evidence we know that alcohol marketing is increasing alcohol consumption among young people the 10. Annual Meeting of NordAN (Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network consisting of 88 NGO ́s) invites Nordic and Baltic countries to ban alcohol marketing
Children and young people constitute an important target group for the alcohol industry because they represent the market of tomorrow and the drinkers of the future. Content analysis of the appealing features used in alcohol advertisements suggest that drinking is portrayed as being an important part of sociability, physical attractiveness, masculinity, romance, relaxation and adventure. Much advertising for alcohol is also using sexual exploration of women. Alcohol commercials are among the most likely to be remembered by teenagers and most frequently mentioned as their favorites.
The research also shows that the effect of less traditional types of marketing practices is even greater. For instance a longitudinal study shows that the effect of possessing a promotional item is bigger than exposure to televised or printed alcohol advertisement (Collins et al. 2007). Alcohol use in movies is also found to be a predictor of prevalence and initiation of alcohol use (Sargent et al.,2006). And still, the effects found in these studies are possibly underestimating the true size of the effects since in reality alcohol advertisers use a combination of different marketing strategies.