A total ban on alcohol advertising: presenting the public health case.

Delays in South Africa's plans to ban alcohol advertising.

Last year Cabinet moved forward on its intention to ban alcohol advertising by approving “The Control of Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages Bill”. This bill, now subject to a regulatory impact assessment (RIA), aims to help reduce alcohol-related harm and protect public health through limiting the public’s exposure to alcohol marketing by limiting advertising of alcohol products to points of sale...

South Africa’s COVID-19 Alcohol Sales Ban: The Potential for Better Policy-Making

The External Cost of Alcohol Consumption in South Africa: Ban on Alcohol Advertising versus other Appropriate Intervention Policies

The issue of a total ban on alcohol advertising has been on the policy agenda for some time, and has again recently been rekindled by an article published in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ).1 It found that the damage caused by alcohol misuse equalled up to 10% of South Africa’s GDP in 2009.2 These findings provide some support for the Control of Marketing of Alcoholic Beverages Bill th...

The impact of the treaty basis on health policy legislation in the European Union: A case study on the tobacco advertising directive

BACKGROUND The Europe Against Cancer programme was initiated in the late 1980s, recognising, among other risk factors, the problematic relationship between tobacco use and cancer. In an attempt to reduce the number of smokers in the European Community, the European Commission proposed a ban on tobacco advertising. The question of why it took over ten years of negotiating before the EU adopted a...

Is it time to ban alcohol advertising?

Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol, with heavy drinking risking impaired brain development and future alcohol dependence. Advertisements increase expectancies about alcohol, leading to a greater likelihood of drinking. A systematic review of 13 longitudinal studies of over 38,000 young people found convincing evidence of an impact of media exp...