A Content Analysis and Population Exposure Estimate Of Guinness Branded Alcohol Marketing During the 2019 Guinness Six Nations

Alcohol branding during rugby union matches in Ireland after commencement of Sect. 15 from the Public Health (Alcohol) Act: a frequency analysis of highlights from the European Rugby Champions Cup and Six Nations Championship

BACKGROUND

Under Sect. 15 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, Ireland has banned alcohol advertising in or on the sports area during a sports event, except for branded clothing. The restrictions commenced on 12th November 2021, but concerns have been raised that alcohol branding continues to feature in the now-prohibited sporting area.

AIM

To examine the frequency and nature of alcohol brand references in or on the sporting area during two rugby union tournaments played in Ireland after Sect. 15 had commenced.

METHODS

A frequency analysis recorded visual references to alcohol brands in or on the sporting area (lasting ≥ 1 s) during highlights of fixtures played in Ireland during the 2021/2022 European Rugby Champions Cup (n = 11 matches; 'ERCC') and 2022 Six Nations Championship (n = 3 matches). Highlights were obtained from the official YouTube channels of each tournament.

RESULTS

Across both tournaments, 481 alcohol brand references were observed in or on the sporting area (ERCC = 420; Six Nations = 61). Most references were advertising for zero-alcohol variants (ERCC = 77.1%; Six Nations = 83.6%) but using similar brand iconography as their 'regular-strength' counterparts (e.g. brand names and logos). The remaining references were classified as alibi marketing for 'regular-strength' alcohol products (ERCC = 22.9%; Six Nations = 16.4%), as alcohol brand logos were presented without explicit reference to a zero-alcohol variant.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol branding continued to feature in or on the sporting area after the commencement of Sect. 15 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. Clarification is needed over whether the promotion of zero-alcohol products and alibi marketing is compatible with Sect. 15 of the Act.

Exposure to tobacco, alcohol and 'Junk food' content in reality TV programmes broadcast in the UK between August 2019-2020

BACKGROUND

Exposure to alcohol, tobacco and foods high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) content in media is a risk factor for smoking, alcohol use and HFSS consumption in young people. We report an analysis of tobacco, alcohol and HFSS content in a sample of reality TV programmes broadcast on TV and video-on-demand services throughout a 1-year period.

METHODS

We used 1-min interval coding to quantify content in all episodes of 20 different reality TV programmes between August 2019 and August 2020 and estimated population exposure to a sample of these programmes using viewing data and UK population estimates.

RESULTS

We coded 13 244 intervals from 264 episodes. Tobacco content appeared in 227 intervals (2%) across 43 episodes (2%), alcohol in 5167 intervals (39%) across 258 episodes (98%) and HFSS in 1752 intervals (13%) across 234 episodes (88%). A sample of 15 series delivered ~157.4 million tobacco, 3.5 billion alcohol and 1.9 billion HFSS gross impressions to the UK population, including 24 000, 12.6 million and 21.4 million, to children, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Tobacco, alcohol and HFSS content are common in reality TV programmes. These programmes deliver exposure to tobacco, alcohol and HFSS imagery, which are a potential driver of tobacco use, alcohol use and HFSS consumption in young people.

Lower Strength Alcohol Products-A Realist Review-Based Road Map for European Policy Making

This paper reports the result of a realist review based on a theory of change that substitution of higher strength alcohol products with lower strength alcohol products leads to decreases in overall levels of alcohol consumption in populations and consumer groups. The paper summarizes the results of 128 publications across twelve different themes. European consumers are increasingly buying and drinking lower strength alcohol products over time, with some two fifths doing so to drink less alcohol. It tends to be younger more socially advantaged men, and existing heavier buyers and drinkers of alcohol, who take up lower strength alcohol products. Substitution leads to a lower number of grams of alcohol bought and drunk. Although based on limited studies, buying and drinking lower strength products do not appear to act as gateways to buying and drinking higher strength products. Producer companies are increasing the availability of lower strength alcohol products, particularly for beer, with extra costs of production offset by income from sales. Lower strength alcohol products tend to be marketed as compliments to, rather than substitutes of, existing alcohol consumption, with, to date, the impact of such marketing not evaluated. Production of lower strength alcohol products could impair the impact of existing alcohol policy through alibi marketing (using the brand of lower strength products to promote higher strength products), broadened normalization of drinking cultures, and pressure to weaken policies. In addition to increasing the availability of lower strength products and improved labelling, the key policy that favours substitution of higher strength alcohol products with lower strength products is an alcohol tax based on the dose of alcohol across all products.