UK: Should we ban alcohol advertising?

Not seen this on here…

The BMA (British Medical Association) has recently called for a ban on all alcohol advertising. Should this happen?

news.bbc.co.uk...

I was prompted to post this after reading the BBC’s Have Your Say section which is dominated by the opinion that this is an example of the nanny state, people aren’t affected by advertising, that this somehow impinges on their freedom to drink and that it should not happen.

newsforums.bbc.co.uk...

Personally I can’t believe this attitude; it is almost completely factually incorrect!

The idea that this is the nanny state couldn’t be more false, this is the unsolicited opinion of an independent medical body, not the government.

The belief that people are not affected by advertising is nothing but wishful thinking guided by the desire to believe we can’t be manipulated that easily (we can, all of us); there’s a reason why industry spends billions on it! A more detailed appraisal of this opinion shows that most people are looking at this thinking “I don’t drink because I see an advertisement so what’s the point”. This is wholly the wrong way of approaching this; it may or may not (probably not) be true that advertising doesn’t cause you personally to drink but that isn’t the main problem. What is a problem is the drinking culture in the UK, this stems from the social belief that alcohol is inextricably linked with fun, maturity and popularity; this is the message that advertising helps ingrain into each successive generation. It is the young, pre-drinking ages who are more vulnerable to advertising that a ban may help. It is a long term approach intended to change culture.

It should not need to be said that a lack of advertising does not stop anyone from exercising their right to choose whether they drink or not. Further more if it is the case that you believe alcohol advertising doesn’t affect you, why would a ban be so unpalatable. If you are sensible, drink in moderation then a ban would not affect you; it probably won’t affect you if you’re a binge drinking semi-alcoholic but then it’s not really meant to anyway.

It is undeniable that Britain has a drink problem and that this is cultural in nature, I don’t think there’s anyone who is happy with the state of things as they are. The costs to policing, health care, property damage and many other negative effects that come from large scale excessive drinking need to be alleviated. The question is how. I personally don’t think that this can be done within a generation, it must be long term. While banning alcohol advertising may not have an immediate or universal effect it is nevertheless a component that will have an impact on the long term social psyche.

What does ATS think?

The UK definitely has a drinking problem!me and all my friends definitely have drinking problems! i really dont see how it could change significantly with cutting expenditure on ads maybe enforce more health warnings?
but there are so many other contributing factors such as cheap alcohol, the ease in which you can get alcohol and also if you think of all the TV programmes aimed at young people such as skins and hollyoaks the people on those programmes are always drinking whether they are over 18 or not. Other factors would be that theres nothing for young people to do-but personally i would say theres plenty of things to do, i think that british people may have forgotten how to have fun.

I find this to be a very interesting topic. In what people are saying in the effects of advertising, well i understand what they say, but i believe that they are saying it in the wrong way.

Im english, and i do like my drink. The adverts dont "make" me drink, but they influence "what" i drink. If someone is watching a sporting event in a pub, and they see an advert for Carling, then they go to a bar and think, "i feel like a pint, but i dont know what beer to buy", their more than likley goin to buy a Carling. Its assosiation, show someone a Carling logo and say "beer" for so long, they will eventualy assosiate Carling as the most trusting and best beer, because they assosiate it most with beer.

The reason this subject is interesting is how it brings sport into it. If the advertisment gets banned, it would cripple football (which bring in alot of money to the country), who's goin to take over carling or carlsburg?? Coca-cola cant afford to have 2 leagues and a cup and sponser a chanpionship tournoment.

Also, why shouldnt they be allowed to advertise? They have the right to advertise their product as much as any other company does. Its more than just TV adverts, what are they going to do about the pumps in the pubs?? They advertise their products with recorgnisable desings and logos, what about promotional offers?? Thats advertising their product, that will also have to go. All that this will do is make alcohol the new nicoten, make it rediculesly expencive, then ban it in public places (pubs), and by then it will be so expencive, only the rich higher class couuld affort to drink, much like the time whisky was made rediculesly expencive so only the rich could drink, but like the good ol' british, we just made our own.

alcohol should be banned from all your basic stores.
bars/pubs/restaurants should be the places where you can only drink/buy.

but i do agree it should be against the law to advertise alcohol.

I wonder if a banning adverts for real ale and whisky will work as well at preventing young girls from binge drinking as the ban on pipe tobacco advertising did at stopping them from taking up smoking?

Meanwhile, since Britain has a serious problem with over congested roads, plus pollution from exhaust fumes and hundreds of deaths a year directly attributable to cars, we ought to also ban all advertising by car manufacturers.

And given the mess political parties make of everything the we really must ban adverts by political parties (and I think that, at least, would have huge popular support! )

Originally posted by Essan
Meanwhile, since Britain has a serious problem with over congested roads, plus pollution from exhaust fumes and hundreds of deaths a year directly attributable to cars, we ought to also ban all advertising by car manufacturers.

Comparing Apples and Oranges?

A car is a necessity alcohol isn't.

I don't know about the UK but here in the US there is not advertising for any tobacco products and come to think of it I haven't seen any alcohol commercials much either (probably because I don't watch much tv), I think it's stupid to advertise beer but yet you won't advertise tobacco (which is much much worst). I think some people in high places need to get there priorities straight.

Most of the people in the UK have a drink problem. Your typical British night in is sitting in front of the TV watching depressing soaps while downing at least two bottles of wine before bedtime. I live opposite a pub and there is fights every weekend, simply because teenagers can't handle their shandy's. One thing is certain, Britain has a serious drink problem and alcohol anonymous will never go out of business. @@:

[edit on 9-9-2009 by kindred]

Advertising in things like coffee, alcohol, tobacco and other "vice" products is largely unnecessary. People will seek them out even without ever knowing of their existence.

Advertising is simply one brand trying to capture a share of the market base. Typically through such trivial means as "lifestyle branding."

Ban all the advertising and consumption rates would not change.

Ban the product and consumption will likely rise as well as a host of "black market" related crimes. Look no further than prohibition in the United States, the war on drugs or the asinine ban on firearms.

Makes no difference what the "law" says or what a group of well-intentioned albeit wholly ignorant complainers want the outcome to be.

You cant legislate morality but idiots keep trying.

Let me tell you guys a little story about adverts. After work I have to go wait at a bus shelter, and this particular bus shelter has an advertisement on one side all the time. Often it was siky things or things or things that I had no interest in (they'd change it on a fairly regular basis) so I eventually learned not to to pay any attention to it. A few months ago I found that every time I left work, I felt like going for a burger. I usually am hungry after work anyway so I didn't connect the dots immediately. Not until my bf pointed I had been craving burgers every night for the past few weeks, and asked if there were any advertisements round work for food. I said there were adverts at the bus stop but the last one I remembered was about a phone or ringtones. Of course, when I actually went awarely looking for it I found it-a burger advert at the bus stop that I thought I'd been ignoring! So yes, banning adverts of things like alcohol may well be the first step towards true healing.

Originally posted by Uniceft17

Originally posted by Essan
Meanwhile, since Britain has a serious problem with over congested roads, plus pollution from exhaust fumes and hundreds of deaths a year directly attributable to cars, we ought to also ban all advertising by car manufacturers.

Comparing Apples and Oranges?

A car is a necessity alcohol isn't.

A car is not a necessity (I've managed without one for 43 years so far - and most of that time has been living in a small town or the countryside). But in any case we're talking advertising.

If advertising beer makes people who would not otherwise do so go out and buy beer then by the same rationale advertising cars must make people who would not otherwise do so go out and buy cars.

If advertising beer makes people drink more beer than they would otherwise do, then by the same rationale advertising cars must make people drive more than they would otherwise do.


Yes, there is a problem with some people over indulging in alcohol to their own and others detriment. But it's not adverts that cause that and banning advertising will simply not solve the problem - though, given the amount of money spent (wasted IMO) on advertising and sponsorship, it may cause others.

Originally posted by Essan

(I've managed without one for 43 years so far - and most of that time has been living in a small town or the countryside)

Well good for you! But to most of the world (89% estimate) a vehicle is still a necessity, and theres not debating that, that's fact.

If advertising beer makes people who would not otherwise do so go out and buy beer then by the same rationale advertising cars must make people who would not otherwise do so go out and buy cars.

Vehicles in general don't have to advertised to be sold, because like I said, a vast majority of the world population looks at cars as a necessity, if they weren't a necessity why would almost every human on Earth have one.

The only reason you see advertising for automobiles is because there is always new models coming out and you want to tell someone, "Hey, this has better gas mileage, more aero-dynamic, etc, etc." Cars in general don't need to be advertised to be sold, certain models do.

If advertising beer makes people drink more beer than they would otherwise do, then by the same rationale advertising cars must make people drive more than they would otherwise do.

I'm just going to refer you to the what I wrote above, I don't see how cars and alcohol can be compared.

But it's not adverts that cause that and banning advertising will simply not solve the problem - though, given the amount of money spent (wasted IMO) on advertising and sponsorship, it may cause others.

It won't solve the problem, but it will solve some of the problem. If advertising for alcohol didn't bring in new drinkers or encourage more to consume more than usual then they wouldn't be advertising.

[edit on 9/9/2009 by Uniceft17]

[edit on 9/9/2009 by Uniceft17]

[edit on 9/9/2009 by Uniceft17]

Firstly, the alcohol problem in the UK, well, it has always been there, long before the days of advertisment, people used to make it in their baths and local brewerys and ale festivals. Britan has always been known to like their drink, its our culture.

Nowadays, there is alot more people in the same short space, more and more pubs are getting shut down, causing everyone to go into the same 3 pubs in the town, meaninig that they can not get away from the people that are causing them hassel and trying to start fights, so in the end, they end up fighting. Because this is all now so close together, all the other problems from other peoples nights all come out at once (end the end of the night) and makes it hectic, they have done this on purpose.

In england, the police have a "point" system, more points, more golden stars. Close down all the pubs that arnt in the town center, all the trouble is in one place, eaiser to arrest people, and helpful because it causes more crime and more points for the police. Ive seen this happen in my city, we used to have at least 6 pub/clubs, now we have 3, and one of them is struggling to stay open.
It has been happaning for a fair few years now, so now they can pull on something like this, and pritty much do what they did with tabaco on alcohol.

Also, another thing that programs such as the one show (most AWFUL peice of crap ive ever seen) will go on to say "it costs the NHS £2.25b a year! its costing the tax payer" and bla bla bla that we've heard with the smoking. But once again, they will miss out how much the NHS get from tabacco and alcohol per year.

It was very hard to find, (and only managed to find it on yahoo answers, but they guy put a link for the tabacco, and i trust him with his alcohol figures the same)

Additional Details
beer and cider £3.4bn
spirits £2.3 bn
Total Alcohol Tax Revenue:- £5.7bn
Aprox Total Cost:- £2.7bn
Total Profit:- £2bn

the tabacco...
Heres the UK Tax Revenue from Tobacco Products
2007-08 (Forecast) £8.1 billion
2008-09 (Forecast) £8.2 billion
2009-10 (Forecast) £8.2 billion

(Have you noticed how the number of smokers have declined since the smoking ban, yet the revenue has increased??, heres the link for the revenue figures...tabaco revenue

Binging problem? yes, but if thats realy what they want to sort out, then they would just spread out the pubs and clubs, instead of compressing them all down one street.

[edit on 9-9-2009 by Trolloks]

Originally posted by Uniceft17
But to most of the world (89% estimate) a vehicle is still a necessity, and theres not debating that, that's fact.

For most of the world (I'd say at least 89%) a car is a luxury Anyway, Britain isn't most of the world

I'm just going to refer you to the what I wrote above, I don't see how cars and alcohol can be compared.

I don't see any difference. One is advertised to make people brand aware and encourage those who already purchase alcohol to buy a new product. The other is advertised to make people brand aware and encourage those who already buy cars to buy a new product. Both are aimed at people who already consume/use the product - not at people who do not currently do so.

It won't solve the problem, but it will solve some of the problem. If advertising for alcohol didn't bring in new drinkers or encourage more to consume more than usual then they wouldn't be advertising.

Does advertising bringing new drinkers or make them drink more? Or does it simply - like cars - make people aware of new brands? Adverts are aimed at persuading drinkers to try a different brew. Just as car adverts are aimed at persuading drivers to try a different model.

Banning tobacco advertising did not reduce the number of people taking up smoking - indeed if anything the percentage of children starting smoking has increased since advertising was banned.

And I'm sure there is just as much alcohol advertised in countries where drink is not anything like such a problem. The issue isn't advertising it's society.

All in my opinion - which may be totally wrong (most likely because too much beer and cider has addled my brain )

reply to post by Mike_A


I would never propose a complete ban on any advertising, but we certainly need less of it.

I'd be in support of a ban on advertising in the street entirely, for anything.

Replace it with public art.

Advertising in public spaces is intrusive, sometimes offensive, it's like we're constantly under attack.

It should be removed from buses, billboards should go, posters should be banned in such places.

Advertise in magazines, on TV, places where you have the choice to to ignore it. But not in the street, blocking my view of the sky, obscuring buildings, casting shadows over everything.

I couldn't care less about it specifically being for alcohol or cigarettes and so on. It's personal choice.
But advertising in general is out of control, it's getting to the point where you cannot go anywhere or do anything without being told to buy something every five seconds.

I suppose that banning the advertising of alcohol is just an attempt at slowly changing the 'binge culture' that we are so often hearing about in the media. The government obviously wants to appear as if they are taking action on this subject, so I suppose this could be seen as their retaliation.

In terms of advertising, as an underage drinker in London it certainly doesn't feel as if alchohol advertisements have a profoundly significant effect on our behaviour. Firstly, they are fairly rare, and secondly they are generally not even aimed at us. We drink because we're bored and angry and there's nothing else better we feel we should be doing with our lives.