The
Alcohol Policy Coalition (APC) has welcomed the Greens' policy announcement that
will put alcohol advertising restrictions on the agenda for the 2014 Victorian
election.
The
Greens today revealed a policy that would restrict advertising of alcohol in
outdoor areas, including public transport and billboards.
APC
spokesperson Brian Vandenberg strongly supported the policy.
"With
alcohol advertising saturating TV, radio, outdoor public spaces, magazines and
social media channels, young people are relentlessly bombarded with these ads,"
Mr Vandenberg said. "If politicians are committed to reducing the harm alcohol
can have on young people, then they must have the courage to address the issue
head on. Outdoor advertising at places such as bus stops and train stations is
particularly insidious because they can't be turned off or time-restricted; yet
these outdoor spaces are frequented by children on their daily commute to
school. The only way to prevent children
seeing alcohol advertising in their neighbourhood is to limit these outdoor ads
altogether."
Research
shows that there is a positive correlation between exposure to alcohol
advertising and the uptake of alcohol use in young people, and the more that
adolescents are exposed to alcohol, the more likely that they are to engage in
risky levels of alcohol consumption. [i]
"It's
true that alcohol consumption has declined among teenagers in the past decade
in Australia [ii] but in
Victoria we have also seen alcohol-related assaults increase by almost 50 per
cent and alcohol-related ambulance attendances triple[iii].
What this reflects is a split drinking culture, in which moderate drinkers are
drinking less, while at risk and vulnerable drinkers are drinking more.
What
message are young people getting when we know these alcohol-related harms are
happening, and yet we allow our footpaths and public transport hubs to be
covered in alcohol ads? There is a clear need to take action to reduce
alcohol-related harms and the policy announced today is a great step in the
right direction to alter the messages about alcohol that are reaching our kids."
The
APC has called on parties to commit to reducing alcohol-related harms by
addressing when, where and how we drink; and to tackle our harmful drinking
culture by introducing tighter restrictions on advertising and sponsorship by the
alcohol industry.
"In
addition to protecting children from outdoor advertising, we also need to prohibit
point-of-sale alcohol promotions, such as rewarding alcohol purchases with gifts,
such as soccer balls and lip gloss to lure young people to drink," Mr Vandenberg
said.
"We
applaud the Greens for putting alcohol policy on their election agenda and hope
that we can expect similar announcements from the other major political parties
in the lead up to November."
For
more information visit www.alcoholpolicycoalition.org.au
[i] Wyllie A, et al.
Responses to televised alcohol advertisements associated with drinking
behaviour of 10-17‐year‐olds. Addiction 93
(3): 361‐371. 1998 2 Anderson, P, et al. Impact
of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: a
systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol Alcsm 44:229‐43.
2009
[ii] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2013
key findings, July 2014, http://www.aihw.gov.au/alcohol-and-other-drugs/ndshs
Canberra: AIHW.
[iii] Victorian
Auditor-General's Report, Effectiveness of Justice Strategies in Preventing
and Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm (2012) p 12, 46. Available at: http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/reports_published_in_2012-13/2011-12/20120620-alcohol.aspx