A broadcast watershed ban on television and radio alcohol advertising in Ireland commences today.
Under the new rules, there can be no advertisement for an alcohol product on television from 3am to 8pm, and on radio on a weekday from 3pm until 10am the following morning.
The purpose of the measure is to reduce the exposure of children and young people to advertisements for alcohol products.
New Rules
The new rules come under Section 19 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act (PHAA) 2018 in Ireland, which introduces a restriction on the times when alcohol advertisements can be shown on radio and television.
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), a national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, has welcomed the broadcast watershed ban, noting that it will help ‘to reduce the level of exposure of children to alcohol marketing, which is known to be a key driver of both initiating alcohol use by children and increasing use.’
The group noted that Diageo is currently the number-four advertiser to children in Ireland, and at least 50,000 children start to drink every year.
‘Modest Measures’
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said, “Ireland is rightly praised internationally for its leadership in passing the PHAA, which is a suite of quite modest measures designed to provide some degree of protection from the tactics of an aggressive industry acting against the population’s health through relentless marketing.
“AAI and many others have strongly campaigned for years for its introduction, and since it was passed, alcohol consumption per capita has dropped by 10%, which is positive.
“However, the fact that the broadcast watershed is only coming into force now, almost seven years after being signed into law, and that not all sections of the PHAA are in force yet, shows the power of the alcohol industry’s lobbying efforts to stymie and delay progress.”
Further Restrictions
Gilheany added, “The different sections of the PHAA are designed to complement one another, and the legislation’s public health benefits will only be fully realised when all the sections are enforced.
“With Ireland still drinking at a level 40% higher than HSE lower-risk guidelines, this is an imperative.”
The two further sections of the act in relation to advertising that remain to be commenced are Section 13, which places restrictions on the content of alcohol advertisements, and Section 18, which relates to advertisements in publications.
In addition, ads for alcohol products will be required to include health information, such as cancer warnings, and details of the HSE alcohol information website, with the aim of providing unbiased material about alcohol risks, and to break the positive associations between alcohol and lifestyle.
