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We all want our families and communities to be healthy and safe, but right now far too many families and communities are experiencing harm from alcohol. Alcohol-induced deaths are at their highest rate in a decade,i and there are increases in people being hospitalised and seeking treatment for alcohol use.ii
There is strong evidence that exposure to alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that children will start drinking alcohol at an earlier age and at higher risk levels.iii
This is why we need to do all we can to ensure that children are not exposed to alcohol marketing or targeted by alcohol companies.
After almost four months, and following a number of community complaints and Parliamentarians calling for action, the alcohol industry’s own Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) Scheme has admitted that an alcoholic product based on a popular soft drink has been designed to appeal to children.iv This comes after ABAC already provided pre-approval for the product’s marketing.
Asahi has known that there was community concern over their product, but instead of taking action, the company started rolling it out on tap in pubs, showing it has no concern about the complaints that have been raised via ABAC. Asahi also had no regard for the fact that the product is being promoted prolifically through TikTok by young Australians, who are sharing videos about how the product masks the taste of alcohol and appeals to young people.v
In practice, ABAC’s acknowledgement that this alcoholic product appeals to children in its design does nothing to address the fundamental issue with how alcoholic products are marketed in Australia.
Advertising and marketing of addictive products that cause substantial harm, including the design of their packaging, should be required to follow Government-led rules that protect our children, families and broader community.
For more than 20 years, the alcohol industry has largely set its own rules for advertising through the voluntary ABAC Scheme. The rules the industry has developed for itself are weak and littered with loopholes.vi Community complaints are often dismissed, and even when breaches are upheld, there are no consequences. Companies like Asahi are left to themselves to decide what action, if any, to take.
The failures and fundamental flaws of the ABAC Scheme continue to leave our community at risk of harm from alcohol marketing.
The ABAC Scheme is completely voluntary, with no legislative basis for holding alcohol companies accountable for their marketing practices.
The Australian community wants change.
Seventy five percent of Australians agree that alcohol companies should not be able to set their own rules for how they advertise alcohol.6
We, the undersigned, call for Government-led regulation of alcohol marketing in Australia that is independent of the alcohol industry – a comprehensive legislative framework with enforcement measures that effectively stop harmful alcohol marketing.
It’s time to put the health and wellbeing of our families and communities first.
Yours sincerely,
i
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Causes of death, Australia. 2022.
ii Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia. 2023.
iii Jernigan D, Noel J, Landon J, Thornton N, Lobstein T. Alcohol marketing and youth alcohol consumption: A systematic review of longitudinal studies published since 2008. Addiction. 2017;112:7-20.
iv Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme Limited. ABAC Adjudication Panel Determination No 119/23 and others. 2023 Nov 8.
v Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. “These will get you messed up”: An analysis of TikTok content on Hard Solo. 2023 Nov 3.
vi Pierce H, Stafford J, Pettigrew S, Kameron C, Keric D, Pratt IS. Regulation of alcohol marketing in Australia: A critical review of the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme's new Placement Rules. Drug and Alcohol Review. 2019;38(1):16-24.
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Alcohol companies are misleading people with ‘low sugar’ labels. A nationally representative poll exposed how alcohol companies use deceptive labels to hinder people’s recognition about the health risks of their own products. The number of people who understood that alcohol is unhealthy fell from 48% to 40% when a “low carb” claim was added, and fell to 37% when a “low sugar” claim was added on the label. This is a 22.9% decline in the recognition that alcohol is harmful to human health.
“All alcohol products increase the risk of cancer, regardless of their sugar or carbohydrate content,” Cancer Council says.
Low carb and low sugar labels hinder recognition of alcohol risks: In August 2023, the George Institute for Global Health conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,000 adults on behalf of Alcohol Change Australia that asked people to rate the healthiness of different alcoholic products, and to assess how low carb and low sugar messages would affect the number of alcoholic beverages they would consume.
The number of people who understood that alcohol is unhealthy fell from 48% to 40% when a low carb claim was added, and fell to 37% when a low sugar claim was added. This is a 22.9% decline in the recognition that alcohol is harmful to human health.
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Under critical reform coming into effect from 7 November 2023 being intoxicated in public will be treated as a health issue, not a crime.
To ensure people who are intoxicated in public can access culturally appropriate and effective supports that prioritise their health, safety and wellbeing, a new evidence-driven, health-based service model will replace the current criminal justice approach.
From 7 November, people will not be placed in a police cell or arrested solely for being drunk in public, with intoxication no longer the threshold for intervention.
Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria will continue to respond where there are community safety or emergency health risks.
Current laws making public intoxication a crime have disproportionately impacted Aboriginal people and other diverse communities across Victoria.
The government will deliver services for Aboriginal people in locations across regional and metropolitan areas, and a service for all people across Melbourne.
Licensee obligations
Under the reform, licensees’ obligations will not change. It will still be an offence to allow drunk people on licensed premises and to serve alcohol to an intoxicated person.
While police will still be available to assist with incidents in and around your venue that require a police response, this is an opportunity to support Victoria’s broader transition to a health-based approach for those most in need of support. (for more Liquor Control Victoria)
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Alcohol Use: Cutting Back or Quitting May Reverse Brain Shrinkage
- A study has found that quitting or cutting back on drinking can improve brain health.
- Those who reduced their drinking to a low-risk level had less brain shrinkage.
- The authors suggest that cutting back may be a more doable goal for people with AUD.
- Some will be able to cut down on their drinking through strategies like mindfulness.
- Others, however, may benefit from professional help.
A new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research(Trusted Source) indicates that, for people with alcohol use disorder, even reducing alcohol consumption can be helpful when it comes to brain health.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism(Trusted Source), alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a brain disorder characterized by an inability to stop or control your alcohol use even though it negatively affects your relationships, health, or work life.
The study found that when people with alcohol use disorder either reduced their alcohol intake or quit drinking completely, they had greater volume in particular regions of the brain than people who drank more heavily.
(More: Can Brain Shrinkage From Alcohol Be Reversed? (healthline.com)
