Intended for healthcare professionals

  1. News & Views
  2. Giving alcohol sports...
  3. Giving alcohol sports marketing the red card in Scotland
Letters Alcohol related harms and elite men’s football

Giving alcohol sports marketing the red card in Scotland

BMJ 2023; 380 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p161 (Published 26 January 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;380:p161
  1. Christopher J Graham12
  1. 1University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
  2. 2Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
  1. christopher.graham{at}postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

The reach of alcohol sports marketing is huge.1 The 2018 FIFA World Cup, for example, delivered several billion branded alcohol impressions to UK viewers, including several hundred million to children.2 Worryingly, exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship is associated with alcohol consumption in children.3 Alcohol marketing also poses a risk to recovery from alcohol problems.4

The UK has a self-regulatory (alcohol industry led) approach to alcohol marketing, which undermines public health, as alcohol sponsors seek a return on their investment: increased alcohol sales.1 Self-regulation does not work,5 and countries with statutory controls on alcohol marketing have less alcohol sports sponsorship than those with self-regulation.6

As recommended by the World Health Organization,7 Scotland can support public health by banning alcohol sports marketing and sponsorship. The Scottish government is currently consulting on restrictions to alcohol advertising and promotion, including in sport.8 There is greater public support for a ban on alcohol sports sponsorship than support for sponsorship.9 Only around 6% of Scottish Premiership sponsors are related to alcohol,6 indicating that finding non-health harming (ideally health promoting) replacement sponsors is achievable. Scottish Women’s Football rejects sponsorship from alcohol (and gambling) brands and has a strong partnership with Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP).10

Restrictions to alcohol marketing in (and outside) sport in the UK are long overdue. Bans should be comprehensive and robust (including independent monitoring and enforcement) and informed by expert guidance, including Alcohol Focus Scotland’s comprehensive report from an international alcohol marketing expert network.4

SHAAP’s Calling Time campaign to encourage the Scottish government to ban alcohol sports marketing and sponsorship has received cross party political support and backing from health and football organisations, including Scottish Women’s Football.10 Scottish voters can email their member of Scottish parliament via SHAAP’s campaign website to call for their support for this proposed ban.10

Make your voice heard.810 Support public health and give alcohol sports marketing the red card.

Footnotes

  • Views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Manchester or the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

  • Competing interests: CJG is a previous employee of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and current employee of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE). SHAAP is based at RCPE.

  • Full response at: https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2906/rr.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Ireland R
    . Alcohol related harms and elite men’s football. BMJ2022;379:o2906. doi:10.1136/bmj.o2906 pmid:36543356
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  2. ↵
    1. Alfayad K,
    2. Murray RL,
    3. Britton J,
    4. Barker AB
    . Population exposure to alcohol and junk food advertising during the 2018 FIFA world cup: implications for public health. BMC Public Health2022;22:908. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-13233-6. pmid:35524237
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. ↵
    1. Brown K
    . Association between alcohol sports sponsorship and consumption: a systematic review. Alcohol Alcohol2016;51:747-55. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agw006. pmid:26911984
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  4. ↵
    Alcohol Focus Scotland. Realising our rights: how to protect people from alcohol marketing. June 2022. https://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/campaigns-policy/alcohol-marketing-campaign/
  5. ↵
    1. Boniface S,
    2. Atkinson AM,
    3. Critchlow N,
    4. Jones M,
    5. Meadows B,
    6. Severi K
    . UK alcohol marketing regulation is failing: a new approach is needed to prioritise protection for all. Drugs Educ Prev Policy2021; doi:10.1080/09687637.2021.2019682.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  6. ↵
    Purves RI, Morgan A, Critchlow N. Alcohol sponsorship of football: examining the nature of sponsorship relations for professional football teams across countries with varied restrictions on alcohol marketing. Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems; Institute for Social Marketing and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling. Nov 2022. https://www.shaap.org.uk/downloads/reports/465-alcohol-sponsorship-of-football-examining-the-nature-of-sponsorship-relations-for-professional-football-teams-across-countries-with-varied-restrictions-on-alcohol-marketing.html
  7. ↵
    World Health Organization. SAFER—alcohol control initiative. 2023. https://www.who.int/initiatives/SAFER
  8. ↵
    Scottish Government. Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion: consultation. 17 Nov 2022. https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-restricting-alcohol-advertising-promotion/
  9. ↵
    Goodwin K. Only one in four Scots would oppose a ban on alcohol advertising in sport. Ferret. 16 Dec 2022. https://theferret.scot/one-four-scots-oppose-ban-alcohol-advert-sport
  10. ↵
    Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems. Calling time. Nov 2022. https://www.shaap.org.uk/calling-time

Log in

Log in through your institution

Subscribe

* For online subscription

Buy this article

Back to top