alcohol

Adam Bertscher, University of Bath and Leslie London, University of Cape Town

The lockdown restrictions introduced in South Africa to curb the initial spread of COVID-19 in March 2020 were the tightest in the world. They included a ban on alcohol sales. This, the government said, was to reduce the pressure on hospitals caused by drinking-related trauma, and to discourage social gatherings.

This restriction exposed the huge public health and social impact of alcohol in South Africa. Dramatic decreases in violence, injuries and trauma-related hospital admissions were reported following the ban on alcohol sales.

The country has some of the heaviest drinkers in the world. Excessive drinking is a major contributor to the health burden. Children are especially vulnerable.

In South Africa 12% of adolescents consumed their first alcoholic beverage before the age of 13 years. In 2016, of the young people between 15 and 19 years old who consumed alcohol, 65% reported binge drinking.

Alcohol abuse is also linked to many societal problems. These include domestic violence, foetal alcohol syndrome, child abuse, injuries, and risky sexual behaviours.

In 2012, the South African government drafted the Control of Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages Bill. The Bill sought to restrict advertising, marketing, sponsorship, or promotion of alcoholic beverages except at the point of sale. It was drafted specifically to protect children from alcohol advertising. This intervention is consistent with World Health Organisation recommendations to control alcohol-related harm.

The Bill underwent three regulatory and socio-economic impact assessments. It was meant to be published for public comment in 2013 but was never made public. Our previous research found that the alcohol and allied industries lobbied heavily against the draft Bill.

One argument made by opponents to the draft Bill was that it would unjustifiably violate human rights. These include freedom of expression, and consumers’ rights to information.

In a recent paper we analysed these claims using the Siracusa Principles, which guide the circumstances under which it is justifiable to restrict some rights.

Human rights are a well-recognised framework based on ethics and embedded in international law. They can be used to find a balance between competing societal goals.

What does international human rights law say?

The Siracusa Principles emerged from a meeting of experts in international law in 1984. They were concerned that limitations on rights in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights might be abused for national security or in a public emergency. They then provided principles for when limitations were permitted, according to international law.

The Siracusa Principles have five criteria that should be met to permit a restriction on human rights. The restriction must be:

• provided for and carried out in accordance with the law;
• in the interest of a legitimate objective of general interest;
• strictly necessary in a democratic society to achieve the objective;
• the least intrusive means available to reach the objective; and
• not arbitrary or unreasonable.

We used this framework in our research to answer the question: is restricting alcohol advertising, in the interest of public health, a justifiable limitation on the right to freedom of expression?

We concluded that restricting alcohol advertising to protect children’s rights and the right to health is justifiable, for several reasons.

Firstly, is it doubtful that corporations can claim human rights. Human rights are intended for natural persons and not legal entities like corporations. But even if rights apply to legal entities, it’s still possible that a limit on freedom of expression could be justified.

Secondly, public health reasons may be acceptable grounds for restricting freedom of expression according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This is because there is strong evidence of the negative impact of alcohol consumption on children. And alcohol advertising is linked to earlier initiation of drinking. This suggests that South Africa’s draft Bill would be effective in reducing drinking in young people.

Thirdly, many international human rights laws support this restriction. For example, article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child supports children’s right to survival and development, and their right to health.

Article 17(e) of the Convention obliges governments to protect children from harmful information. Alcohol advertising would be information that is harmful for children.

Moreover, article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights obliges governments to protect people’s rights from violations by non-state actors – such as the alcohol industry. Government failure to regulate the activities of corporations that market harmful substances may amount to a violation of the right to health.

Lastly, there are no less intrusive and restrictive methods available other than restricting alcohol advertising. Given the scale of the problem, other kinds of interventions targeting high risk drinkers are either ineffective or pose insurmountable logistical challenges, such as the notion of identifying and targeting problem drinkers.

And self-regulation does not work. These industry-preferred interventions put the responsibility on individuals without recognising the responsibility of the alcohol industry in influencing drinking behaviours.

Reducing harm

Introducing regulation to reduce alcohol-related harm is fully consistent with human rights protection, particularly for children. Such regulation could include restricting alcohol advertising, marketing, sponsorship, or promotion.

The international treaty on transnational corporations, business enterprises and human rights is a new draft international law that could substantially strengthen public health goals. This treaty would place obligations on non-state actors, similar to those on governments, and help to make commercial actors accountable for their business practices.

Adam Bertscher, PhD candidate, University of Bath and Leslie London, Head of the Division of Public Health Medicine in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The UK took a narrow victory in this year’s World Beer Awards alcohol-free medals league table, bagging 23 of the 110 awards, two more than second-placed Germany. Canada took third, with 14 gongs, southern neighbour hot on its heels with ten. Brazil managed four, while Estonia, China, Japan and Russia also brought home honours. ■

Style/brewery	Name	Country	Award
Dark
Athletic Brewing Co	All Out	US	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Dark
Super Bock	Free Preta	Portugal	Country Winner
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable Rousse	Canada	Silver
Big Drop	Woodcutter Brown Ale	UK	Silver
Leffe	Brown 0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Super Bock	Negra Sín	Portugal	Silver
Wäls	Vienna Free	Brazil	Bronze
Flavoured
Karlsberg	Grapefruit Alkoholfrei	Germany	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Flavoured
Athletic Brewing Co	Downwinder Gose	US	Country Winner
Karlsberg	Grapefruit Alkoholfrei	Germany	Country Winner
Sleeman Point	Five Non-Alcoholic Citrus Lager	Canada	Country Winner
Lösch-Zwerg	Weizen Zitrone Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Karlsberg	Fresh Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Karlsberg	Radler Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Yanjing Beer	No Alcohol Weissbier	China	Silver
Fentimans	Lemon Shandy	UK	Silver
Mönchshof	Natur Radler 0,0%	Germany	Bronze
Bernard	Free Sour Cherry	Czech Republic	Bronze
San Miguel	0,0 Radler	Spain	Bronze
Leffe	Ruby 0.0%	Belgium	Bronze
Schützengarten	Ginger Beer Alkoholfrei	Switzerland	Bronze
IPA
Samuel Adams	Just The Haze	US	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol IPA
Small Beer	IPA	UK	Country Winner
Twisted Cat	Alcohol Free IPA	Luxembourg	Country Winner
FrogBeer	Incroyable Ipa	France	Country Winner
Campinas	Ipa Zero	Brazil	Country Winner
Õllenaut	Kaineken	Estonia	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Tropical IPA	UK	Silver
Brand	IPA 0.0	Netherlands	Silver
Thornbridge	Zero Five	UK	Silver
Samuel Adams	Just The Haze	US	Silver
Goose Island Brewhouse São Paulo	Little Ipa	Brazil	Silver
Rügener Insel-Brauerei	Snorkelers Sea Salt Ipa	Germany	Silver
Siboire	Discipline	Canada	Bronze
UNLTD.	IPA	UK	Bronze
Partake Brewing	IPA	Canada	Bronze
Microbrasserie Le Trou du diable	Nano Perroquet IPA	Canada	Bronze
Infinite	IPA	UK	Bronze
Lager
Jump Ship	Yardarm	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Lager
Mahou	0,0 Tostada	Spain	Country Winner
Athletic Brewing Co	Athletic Brewing Company	US	Country Winner
Greif Bräu	Leicht	Germany	Country Winner
Pito	1St Czech Non Alcoholic Beer	Czech Republic	Country Winner
Jump Ship	Yardarm	UK	Country Winner
Stella Artois	0.0%	Belgium	Country Winner
B&B	Celestial Sin Hoppy Lager	Spain	Gold
Svyturys	Go Pilsner	Lithuania	Silver
Waldhaus	Diplom Pils Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	New World Lager	UK	Silver
Clausthaler	Original	Germany	Silver
San Miguel	Magna Roja 0,0%	Spain	Silver
Ambar	0,0 Tostada	Spain	Silver
Partake Brewing	Blonde	Canada	Silver
Schützengarten	Alkoholfrei	Switzerland	Silver
Maes	0.0%	Belgium	Bronze
Spaten	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Swinckels’	0.0%	Netherlands	Bronze
Engel	Kellerbier Hell Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Days Brewing	Lager	UK	Bronze
Hofmeister	Ultra Low	Germany	Bronze
Fortitude Drinks	Everyday Lager	UK	Bronze
Karlsberg	Pils Alkoholfrei	Germany	Bronze
Wäls	Session Free	Brazil	Bronze
Pale
Iwate Kura Beer	Heel In The Prohibition Era	Japan	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Pale
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable IPA	Canada	Country Winner
Iwate Kura Beer	Heel In The Prohibition Era	Japan	Country Winner
Jupiler	0.0%	Belgium	Country Winner
Heaps Normal	Quiet Xpa	Australia	Country Winner
Rügener Insel-Brauerei	Surfers Summer Ale	Germany	Country Winner
Maisel & Friends	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Gold
Affligem	Blond 0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Svyturys	Go Pale Ale	Lithuania	Silver
Palm	0.0%	Belgium	Silver
Wold Top	Intuition	UK	Silver
Surreal Brewing Company	Natural Bridges Kolsch Style	US	Silver
San Miguel	0,0%	Spain	Silver
Hawkesbury Brewing Co	Prohibition	Australia	Silver
FrogBeer	Incroyable Blonde	France	Silver
Big Drop	Pine Trail Pale Ale	UK	Silver
Störtebeker Brauspezialitäten	Atlantik-Ale Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Partake Brewing	Pale	Canada	Silver
Tinnies	Ultra Low Alcohol	Australia	Silver
Mornington Peninsula Brewery	Mornington Free	Australia	Bronze
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Yuzu Pale Ale	UK	Bronze
Uwe	Summer Ale	Germany	Bronze
Bowness Bay Brewing	Swan Free	UK	Bronze
Libra	Pale Ale	Canada	Bronze
Sour & wild
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Aurora	Canada	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Sour & Wild
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Aurora	Canada	Country Winner
Big Drop	Double Strike Sour	UK	Bronze
Speciality
Big Drop	Paradiso Citra IPA	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Speciality
Big Drop	Paradiso Citra IPA	UK	Country Winner
The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company	Freak Kriek Zero Point Three Feel Free Merry Cherry Beer	Belgium	Silver
Stout and porter
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Stout & Porter
Athletic Brewing Co	All Out	US	Country Winner
Deschutes	Non-Alcoholic Irish Style Dark	US	Country Winner
Big Drop	Galactic Milk Stout	UK	Country Winner
Surreal Brewing Company	17 Mile Porter	US	Silver
Drop Bear Beer Co.	Bonfire Stout	UK	Silver
Wheet beer
Franziskaner	Alcoholfree Wheat Beer	Germany	World’s Best No & Low Alcohol Wheat
Franziskaner	Alcoholfree Wheat Beer	Germany	Country Winner
Microbrasserie Le Bockale	Meteorite	Canada	Country Winner
Svyturys	Go Baltas	Lithuania	Silver
Athletic Brewing Co	Wit’s Peak	US	Silver
Maisel’S Weisse	Alkoholfrei	Germany	Silver
Sober Carpenter		Canada	Silver
Bavaria	0.0% Wit	Netherlands	Silver
Baltika	0.0% Wheat Unfiltered	Russian Federation	Silver
FrogBeer	Incroyable Blanche	France	Silver
La Voie Maltee	La Raisonnable Wheat Beer	Canada	Bronze
Grolsch	Weizen 0.0%	Netherlands	Bronze

Seven in ten Brits want government policy to be protected from alcohol industry interference and a majority want a ban on alcohol advertising, says a survey for the Alcohol Health Alliance (which launches its manifesto in Parliament today.

“With a general election due to take place next year, our message to all political parties is that with the right political will there is a significant opportunity here to turn the tide on alcohol harm and drastically improve the lives of generations to come,” said Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the alliance.

The findings accompany the launch of a report and manifesto today in Parliament. The alliance points to National Audit Office figures showing alcohol deaths directly attributable to alcohol rose by 89% between 2001 and 2021, while alcohol harms cost the NHS £3.5bn a year.

The Yougov survey also found that 60% of people think alcohol displays and promotions in shops should only be visible to people who intend to browse or buy alcohol. They also showed strong support for making it mandatory to put basic information on alcohol product labels.

76% of respondents said the alcohol content of alcohol products should be required on labels, not just the alcohol percentage as is the case now, forcing consumers to work out how much alcohol a drink contains. Over half supported mandatory pregnancy warnings and nutritional information.

Alcohol products are exempt from laws requiring all other types of food and drink to include nutritional information on labels, despite alcohol being linked to seven types of cancer and over 200 other illnesses. The only requirement is for alcohol product labels to include volume, alcohol percentage and common allergens.

The UK government promised a consultation on alcohol labelling in 2020, but it did not deliver on its promise. ■

Twittersphere:

Report and manifesto here.: "70% of people surveyed support protecting Government policy from the influence of the alcohol industry and its representatives." (p3). Ad ban support below (p17). There were 12,000 on Yougov's panel.https://t.co/MWq2WAIxS5 pic.twitter.com/IB66MAQhKC

— Alcohol Review (@alcohol_review) July 11, 2023

The wisdom of making Euro 2024 a beer marketing bonanza should surely be questioned when alcohol deaths are still 30% above pre-pandemic levels in the UK and elsewhere.

Imagine a national football hero wreathed in heavenly light, carrying a holy relic to bless long ranks of beer cans as they emerge from a production line. “Bring it home!” our hero commands as the cans wheel past in obedient legions. 

The message is clear for anybody witnessing this unlikely tableau. Any true admirer of this man and supporter of the national team with which he played must procure some of these magical cans and imbibe their contents.

It is satire gone too far, surely? It would require a world in which quasi-religious imagery was used to manipulate people into consuming a health-harming psychoactive product while watching sportspeople in their prime.

Well, absurd yes, but it is 2024 when the bedrock of satire is what underpins reality. This is the storyline of the all-too-real Budweiser ad for Euro 2024 featuring Geoff Hurst, sole survivor of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team.

England may not get far in the tournament, but they can come home safe in the knowledge they are forever a team with one of the most ludicrous alcohol ads of 2024, bending England’s national football folklore into a commercial goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZf5KtPWaJ0

Sports watching is an alcohol marketing dream. The phases of boredom, anxiety, depression, frustration, sociability and euphoria it induces are all powerful cues for alcohol drinking. It may even help train us to feel we need alcohol to cope with emotions at other times.

Not walking alone
This is, of course, not the only alcohol ad doing the rounds during Euro 2023. TV viewers young and old are continually persuaded in any number of cunning ways to believe a few beers are an essential accessory to proper football viewing.

The alcohol industry boilerplate counter-message “drinking responsibly” does not stop the constant association building. And the example set by “real fans” at the matches does not help either, with some so assured of beer’s pivotal role in the football story they launch half-full beer cups at the players.

Euro 2024 is a beer industry bonanza, like all football tournaments. Advertising is a way of capitalising on the enormous buzz of activity around it, fuelling demand from existing beer drinkers and imprinting on new potential customers, like children and young people.

The idea alcohol companies might now or ever curtail their ads voluntarily is laughable. Alcohol companies are obliged to do what is allowed to enrich shareholders. The only way to curb a vector of incentivised harm is to have effective ad regulations. These are currently absent in most countries.

And ad regulation needs to cover alcohol-free brews which share their brand with an alcoholic beer. These are widely used to crowbar alcohol brands into sports coverage, like the upcoming Olympics. The subterfuge is obvious given the tiny share of alcohol-free sales.

Individual approach
No one of us is able to make these legal changes, which will take time. So all we can do in the meantime is protect ourselves and those around us as best we can. 

One way is to avoid being in alcohol soaked environments including our homes. Alcohol is simply not an essential part of playing sport, nor an essential part of watching it either. Alcohol, of course, played no part in Geoff Hurst’s hat trick of goals in 1966. There would have been no beer ads for TV viewers and lager would have been, perhaps, 1% of the beer market.

We might remind ourselves that one of the greatest players of the same era, Sir Stanley Matthews (pictured), didn’t drink. Meanwhile a crop of football stars including France’s Kylian Mbappé oppose alcohol promotions. Opting out is not easy and not currently possible if someone does not offer a religious reason, even though there are plenty of secular reasons.

We might also remind ourselves that alcohol blighted the lives of many of the best football players, like Diego Maradona, George Best and Paul Gascoigne, to name just three known to this very occasional football viewer. Did people watching the 1966 England match need beer to appreciate it. Would that not have dulled the experience rather than enhance it. 

We might also imagine that avoiding alcohol when watching football might be positive training for us. We can use it as a way to learn to ride a roller coaster of emotions without turning to alcohol to cope. Or we can at least see it as a way of reducing the risk of developing this common problem. 

And finally, perhaps, we might ask ourselves something: If we are unable to enjoy watching football without consuming alcohol then maybe we do not like the game? ■ 
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Recommendations for alcohol and other drugs from Professor David Best of Derby University based on evidence he outlined at yesterday’s NHS Addictions Provider Alliance conference:

1. Get specialist help if you need it, including to deal with any trauma or long-term psychological health problems
2. You can rely on peer support. It can be but it doesn’t have to be mutual aid groups like AA or NA [Narcotics Anonymous]
3. Move away from using friends and find social groups that do not include alcohol
4. Do things—sport, education, hobbies—they build your social networks and your self-esteem 
5. You can help yourself a lot by helping others 
6. Be optimistic—you will get there—most people do