British doctors call for ban on all alcohol ads
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER Raphael G. Satter
–
1 hr 25 mins ago
LONDON – British doctors called for a ban on alcohol
advertisements Tuesday, saying the move was necessary to challenge Britain's
dangerous drinking culture.
The British Medical Association
argued in a report that a rapid increase in alcohol consumption among
young Britons in recent years was being underpinned by "clever alcohol
advertising" and that a prohibition on alcohol-related publicity was needed to
help turn the situation around.
"Our
society is awash with pro-alcohol messaging and marketing," Dr.
Vivienne Nathanson, the association's head of science and ethics, said
in a statement. "We need to look beyond young people and at society as
a whole."
The association, which represents
more than two-thirds of Britain's practicing doctors, has repeatedly
warned of the dangers of the country's increasingly deadly drinking
habit. In a widely publicized report last year, the association said Britain
was among the hardest-drinking countries in Europe and noted its
alcohol-related death rate had nearly doubled between 1991 and 2005 — from 6.9
to 12.9 per 100,000 people.
Although
the group has lobbied for higher taxes and stricter regulation in the
past, its new report called for a total ban on all alcohol
advertisements.
The report said Britain's
drinks industry spends 800 million pounds ($1.24 billion) annually
promoting alcohol consumption, wielding its "prodigious marketing
skills and massive budgets to promote positive images about alcohol,
and back these up with incentives, branding and sophisticated public
relations."
The report called for the drinks
industry to be banned from sponsoring sporting events like the FA Cup —
currently backed by Danish brewer Carlsberg — or the Grand National race
— whose title sponsor is John Smith's Ale. It also said alcohol ads
should be wiped from newspapers and billboards and kicked off radio and
television.
British brewers acknowledged that
the country's drinking culture could use changing, but said bans and
higher taxes weren't the answer.
"We believe
culture change is more likely to be achieved through long-term
education and tough enforcement," said Jeremy Beadles, the chief
executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.
Britain's government would not be drawn on the idea of an ad
ban. The Department of Health said in a statement that "it's not always right
to legislate," while the Advertising Standards Authority said its codes were
already "among the strictest in the world."
___
British Medical Association report, in PDF format:
http://tinyurl.com/l6w246
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