Alcohol advertising bans need stronger evidence

Wellington (18 December 2014): The New Zealand Initiative’s Head of Research, Dr Eric Crampton, today urged Cabinet to look to the evidence before banning alcohol advertising and sponsorship.

The Ministerial Forum on Advertising and Sponsorship this week recommended reasonably comprehensive bans on alcohol advertising and sponsorship. Any producer wishing to advertise outdoors, in print, or on the internet must prove that less than 10% of the viewing audience are under 18.

Sponsorship of events like the World of Wearable Arts festival would be banned unless the organisers can prove that fewer than 10% of attendees are under the age of 18, as would be sponsorship of all sporting events, from the Heineken Open to the Rugby Sevens.

Dr Crampton said, “The proposed measures will impose substantial costs on those currently receiving sponsorship, on taxpayers called upon to fill in any funding gaps after a ban, on media already struggling against declining advertising revenues, on new producers who would have a harder time letting customers know about their products, on established brands competing against clearskin alternatives, and on consumers who want to be informed about new products.”

“That could be justifiable, were there substantial evidence that the bans would reduce harmful consumption. Unfortunately the evidence simply isn’t there, as the Cochrane Review concluded in November of this year. Similarly, Jon Nelson’s 2011 survey of the literature found no effects of advertising restrictions on harmful consumption.”

Dr Crampton concluded, “We can’t base policies on an evidentiary base that consists of little more than wishful thinking – and especially not when those policies do not come for free. But if the government does go ahead regardless, they should at least implement policies in a way that allows for evaluation, so that we can keep any measures that do prove cost-effective while cancelling any that do not.”

ENDS

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