New Zealand: New Zealand’s Government to review alcohol advertising policy

The New Zealand’s Government has announced a wide-ranging review of liquor advertising that will look at sport sponsorship and the coercion of young people to drink. The review comes growing concern over New Zealanders' entrenched binge drinking culture and new research showing young people are heavily influenced by alcohol advertising.

This move has been welcomed by alcohol awareness groups who say liquor costs the country billions of dollars every year. This week, Christchurch emergency department medics revealed a third of people who visited their unit had been drinking before sustaining their injuries. Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor said the review would consider alcohol industry sponsorship, promotions and the exposure of young people to advertisements. The review would take a year and include sports groups, the general public and the liquor industry, he said.

The review would determine whether new rules for alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship were needed or an extension of existing self-regulation rules. Latest research showed a connection between alcohol advertising and the beliefs and behaviours of young people, O'Connor said.

Responsible marketing would help achieve the Government's objective of reducing harm caused by alcohol to New Zealand society, he said. Both policy-makers and industry groups agreed alcohol advertising needed to be better regulated, O'Connor said.

DB Breweries corporate affairs general manager Mark Campbell said the review could have a significant impact on the industry's bottom-line if it suggested a total ban or serious restrictions on advertising and sponsorship. "If New Zealand is serious about addressing the issues such as binge and underage drinking, then we must critically examine the role of how alcohol advertising encourages our drinking culture," he said. Alcohol Advisory Council chief executive Dr Mike MacAvoy welcomed the review, particularly the opportunity to ensure new forms of media were well policed.

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