Key Concerns

There is an urgent need for action to address harmful drinking patterns in Australia

• 94% of West Australian adults are concerned about alcohol use among young people and 98% are concerned about alcohol-related violence.^[1]
• Three quarters of Australians believe that Australia has a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse.^[2]
• The cost of alcohol-related harm in Australia, including harms caused by someone else's drinking, is estimated to be $36 billion a year.^[3]
• One in five Australians aged 14 years and above drink at a level that puts them at risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over their lifetime.^[4]
• One in three 14 to 19 year olds drink alcohol in a way that places them at risk of an alcohol-related injury from a single drinking occasion at least once a month.^[4]
• Many young people drink to get drunk; 45% of current drinks aged 16 to 17 years report intending to get drunk on most or every occasion when they drink alcohol.^[5]
• Alcohol is associated with violence, injury, crime and car crashes, and causes considerable harm to health.
• Longer term health problems associated with risky alcohol use include liver damage, heart damage, and increased risk of some cancers.^[6],[7]
• There is growing concern about the impact of alcohol on young peoples’ development. Heavy drinking at a young age can adversely affect brain development and is linked to alcohol-related problems in later life.^[6]

The alcohol industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year promoting its products

• Alcohol is one of the most heavily promoted products in the world.^[8]
• Alcohol companies in Australia spend an estimated $125 million a year on alcohol advertising on direct television, radio, outdoor, and print media alone.^[9]
• The total spend on promotion by the alcohol industry is likely to be much higher when other kinds of promotions, such as sponsorship of sport, music and arts events, online advertising, point-of-sale promotions, and advertising by liquor retailers are taken into account.
• New, interactive technologies have enabled alcohol marketers to promote their products through the internet, mobile phones and social media, as well as traditional media.

Exposure to alcohol advertising impacts young people

• Exposure to alcohol promotion impacts on the drinking behaviours and attitudes of young people.^[10]
• Research consistently shows strong associations between exposure to alcohol advertising and young people’s early initiation to alcohol use and/or increased alcohol consumption.^[11],[12]
• Exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to the normalisation of alcohol use and works to reinforce the harmful drinking culture that exists in Australia.^[13]

In Australia, alcohol advertising is subject only to a voluntary code administered by the alcohol and advertising industries. Advertising self-regulation is favoured by industry, yet self-regulation tends to be largely ineffective.^[14],[15]

We believe there are numerous deficiencies in the current system and how it’s implemented. To find out more about Australia's self-regulated alcohol advertising scheme, click here.

[1] Independent market research commissioned by the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, November 2012. Available from: www.mcaay.org.au

[2]Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education. Annual Alcohol Poll: attitudes and behaviours. Deakin (Australia): Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education; 2013

[3] Laslett A-M, Catalano P, Chikritzhs Y, Dale C, Doran C, Ferris J, et al. The Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others. Fitzroy, Victoria: AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Eastern Health; 2010.

[4] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey report. Drug statistics series no. 25. Cat. no. PHE 145. Canberra: AIHW; 2011.

[5] White V, Bariola E. Australian secondary school students' use of tobacco, alcohol, and over-the-counter and illicit substances in 2011. Prepared for Drug Stategy Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Melbourne: Centre for Bhavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria; 2012.

[6] National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2009.

[7] Winstanley MH, Pratt IS, Chapman K, Griffin HJ, Croager EJ, Olver IN, et al. Alcohol and cancer: a position statement from Cancer Council Australia. MJA. 2011; 194(9):479-482.

[8] Jernigan D. The extent of global alcohol marketing and its impact on youth. Contemp Drug Probl. 2010; 37:57–89.

[9] Victorian Department of Human Services. Alcohol beverage advertising in mainstream Australian media 2005 to 2007: expenditure and exposure. 2009.

[10] Anderson P, de Bruijn A, Angus K, Gordon R, Hastings G. Impact of Alcohol Advertising and Media Exposure on Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies. Alcohol Alcohol. 2009; 44(3):229–243.

[11] Snyder LB, Fleming-Milici F, Slater M, Sun H, Strizhakova Y. Effects of Alcohol Advertising Exposure on Drinking Among Youth. Arch Pediatri Adolesc Med. 2006; 160:18-24.

[12] Smith L, Foxcroft D. The effect of alcohol advertising, marketing and portrayal on drinking behaviour in young people: systematic review of prospective cohort studies. BMC Public Health. 2009; 9(51).

[13] Australian Medical Association. Alcohol Marketing and Young People: Time for a new policy agenda. Canberra: Australian Medical Association; 2012. 

[14] Jones S, Hall D, Munro G. How effective is the revised regulatory code for alcohol advertising in Australia? Drug Alcohol Rev. 2008; 27:29-38.

[15] Moodie R, Stuckler D, Monteiro C, Sheron N, Neal B, Thamarangsi T, et al. Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed food and drink industries. The Lancet. 2013; 381(9867):670-679.