Just ban it!
Did you see the new consultation that is going on in Scotland?
It was launched in Nov 2022 and looks at further restricting the marketing and advertising of alcohol. This follows the ban on buy one get one free and other multi-buy offers and the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing which the Scots government claim has reduced purchases of cheaper, more potent alcohol products.
Restrictions on advertising otherwise legal products like alcohol and cigarettes have always been controversial. The argument for cigarettes is based on good medical evidence that smoking is bad for your health, but the case for alcohol is not so black and white.
Alcohol consumption in Scotland is a pressing issue for the Government. In 2020, the Scots bought alcohol to the extent that every single person aged over 16 could drink 18 units a week, 28% more than the guideline of 14 units. This is an alarming figure, especially as 16 and 17 years olds are included in this despite the fact they can’t legally buy it.
Alcohol-related deaths in Scotland in 2020 were 21.5 per 100K people, whereas, in England and Wales, it was 13 and 13.9 respectively.
I can therefore understand the need to “do” something to stop this from getting worse, if not improve things. But the consultation could threaten the alcohol industry in Scotland according to a growing voice of opposition.
The consultation overview states that alcohol marketing appeals to “large volumes of children and young people in Scotland” and that “it is also likely that alcohol marketing influences higher-risk drinkers, and acts as an incentive to drink alcohol”.
The proposals would see a ban on outdoor adverts, including on vehicles and in public spaces, a ban on sponsoring music and sports events, banning newspaper, magazine, tv and radio advertising, and restricting alcohol-branded social media channels and websites.
However, the proposal to ban alcohol-branded merchandise has led to the whisky industry suggesting this will see the end of visitor centres at the distilleries across Scotland, threatening the existence of the rural communities employed there.
Scotch whisky has geographically indication protected status reflecting its unique and special qualities. Visits to the distilleries in 2019 were the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in Scotland, generating £70 million in revenue.
It is a difficult balancing act, the freedom of the individual against the influence and potential damage excessive alcohol can have, but it seems this may be the case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water”.
The opinions in the consultation and many of the proposals come from evidence from some of our European neighbours.
I would suggest that maybe the Scottish government should look again at evidence closer to home, as attitudes to alcohol in Scotland are more likely to be closer to those in England and Wales I would say than Norway or Sweden.
And on that note, I’m off for a glass of red.