Doctors demand music marketing ban for alcohol

Tuesday September 8, 2009

Festivals, tours and venues have benefited from alcohol sponsorship for years, with brands such as Carling, Tennents, Tuborg, Magners, Gaymers, Jack Daniels and Smirnoff to name but a few, committing millions of pounds a year to live music events.

However, that could be about to change, with the BMA claiming that a crackdown is needed, as is an end to cut-prize alcohol deals, in an effort to stem the growing problem of binge drinking and alcohol consumption in general.

According to BMA figures, only about £200m of the £800m spent by brewers and distillers is used for direct advertising, meaning that the vast majority of those promotional budgets are used to fund sponsorship and other branding activities.

With statistics showing that the cost to the NHS of alcohol related illness and injury now tops £3bn, the doctors’ organisation is calling for a ban on all advertising and sponsorship, claiming that the association with sports and music could be enticing more young people to drink to excess.