Sports sponsorship ‘saturated’ with alcohol ads

A Department of Health briefing document said there is “saturation exposure” of alcohol products during sporting events and cited the French model, which completely bans alcohol sponsorship, as “best practice”.

The document contrasts with Government policy, which ruled against a ban and excluded it from alcohol legislation published seven months ago.

The report was commissioned to update the findings of the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group and in the context of the drafting of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which was published last September.

The document, completed in the summer of 2014, but only released publicly now, was compiled by Ann Hope, formerly the department’s advisor on alcohol for many years.

“There is compelling evidence that alcohol marketing is having an effect on young people’s drinking,” said Dr Hope.

She said the evidence base has grown and that the quality of research has expanded.

“Numerous longitudinal studies have found that young people who are exposed to alcohol marketing are more likely to start drinking, or if already drinking, to drink more,” said Dr Hope.

She said alcohol is marketed using multiple channels of communication, not just commercial advertisements.

“The area of alcohol-branded sports sponsorship illustrates the saturation exposure of alcohol product placement during sporting events,” she said, citing numerous studies from Australia, the English Premier League, and Euro2012 football championship.

She said “sport is increasingly used as a vehicle for the promotion of ‘risky consumption’ products”.

Dr Hope noted that “best practice examples” in Europe include the French Law, Loi Evin. This comprehensive policy includes “a total ban on TV and on sponsorship of any kind”.

The Government’s own expert body, the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group, recommended in February 2012, after three years of work, that alcohol sponsorship of sports events be phased out by 2016.

That recommendation was strongly opposed by sporting organisations and drinks companies and was publicly questioned by several ministers.

It led to the setting up of an interdepartmental committee, which reported at the end of 2014 that there was “limited” evidence of a link between sponsorship and consumption.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill does not deal with the principal sponsorship issue, other than prohibiting advertising in sports grounds for events where the majority of competitors or participants are children or physically on a sports area (for example on the actual pitch) for all events.

Dr Hope estimates the total cost of problem alcohol use was €2.35bn in 2013.

Costs across seven affected areas were: Health (€793m); crime (€686m); road accidents (€258m); lost output from absenteeism (€195m); work-related accidents (€185m); suicides (€169m); and premature mortality (€65m).

She said this compares to a total cost of €3.7bn in 2007, indicating a substantial reduction.

Dr Hope said that this decline is due to a reduction in alcohol-related car accidents and a “significant reduction” in government spending on health and the criminal justice system.

Figures show a 23% cut in health spending between 2008 and 2013, with a 9% reduction in garda, courts and prison funding.

She said research estimated that 54% of Irish adult drinkers were classified as “harmful drinkers”, equating to between 1.3m and 1.4m people.

Dr Hope said: “While alcohol per capita declined between 2007 and 2013, it still remains high and the damaging dominance of a harmful drinking pattern in Ireland remains very high by European standards and is a major public health concern.”