Sir, – Dr Michael Loftus (April 13th) makes some very serious allegations about the drinks industry and employs research from the UK to support his argument in an Irish context.
However, Dr Loftus neglects some critical points that have a huge bearing on this very important topic. First, alcohol consumption among young people is falling, as it is among the general population; second, when it comes to marketing alcohol, Ireland is one of the most tightly regulated systems in the world; and third, industry has called for this system to be put on a statutory footing.
The recent Department of Children and Youth Affairs State of the Nation's Children report shows that the number of young people stating they have never had an alcoholic drink has increased by 35 per cent in the past eight years. Last week's UNICEF report found the percentage of young people who reported having been drunk on more than two occasions has fallen in Ireland and in a detailed survey of 29 countries, Ireland is at average levels.
The alcohol industry in Ireland does everything in its power to limit the exposure of those under the legal drinking age to alcohol advertising.
Despite the assertions by Dr Loftus that advertising of alcohol is governed by self-regulation only, the industry must adhere to statutory advertising regulations, such as the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Broadcasting Act 2001.
In addition, the industry is signatory to voluntary codes, which strictly control how, where and when its products are advertised. These codes are among the strictest in the world and are monitored by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland and the Alcohol Marketing and Communications Monitoring Board, which includes the Department of Health. As a further layer of compliance, the alcohol industry established Central Copy Clearance Ireland (CCCI) in 2003. Under this initiative alcohol companies must submit any alcohol advertisements appearing on any media format for pre-vetting. Unless an advertisement conforms to the above codes and regulations, and subsequently acquires an approval number from CCCI, no Irish media owner will accept the advertisement.
Dr Loftus refers to “alcohol marketers . . . exploiting the opportunities presented by social media”. This demonstrates a lack of awareness on his part of the controls on volume, content and placement of alcohol marketing on websites as well as social media sites that the industry has implemented. In addition, all alcohol advertising and social media pages use “age targeted technology” to ensure their brands are seen only by those over the legal drinking age.
Acknowledging that it has a key part to play in promoting a responsible attitude to drinking, the industry has proposed a four-point plan to Government to address alcohol misuse, including a Government-backed single code of practice for alcohol marketing, promotion, sponsorship, supply and sale of alcohol; the expansion of a multi-stakeholder programme of consumer education and information campaigns to effect attitudinal and behavioural change, delivered through drinkaware.ie and the introduction of Irish unit information and pregnancy advice labels on pre-packaged alcohol products.
The issue of underage drinking needs attention and should be addressed by all parties in an informed and balanced manner as part of a wide stakeholder response to alcohol misuse in this country. Dr Loftus’s sensational language is wholly unnecessary, employed to garner reaction rather than progress an important issue. – Yours, etc,
KATHRYN D’ARCY,
Director, Alcohol Beverage
Federation of Ireland,
St Stephen’s Green,
Dublin 2.