Wednesday, 16 December 2020, 1:15 pm
Oversight of the marketing of alcohol, an addictive drug
linked to 800 deaths per year in New Zealand, has been left
in the hands of alcohol advertisers and producers by
successive Governments. This approach is destined to fail
our wellbeing, as seen in the Advertising Standards
Authority’s (ASA) latest revision of its voluntary Code
for Advertising and Promotion of Alcohol.
The revised
code continues its narrow focus on the content and timing of
alcohol marketing, amounting to little more than rearranging
deck chairs on the Titanic. Alcohol marketing, including
alcohol branding of sports through sponsorships, is
appearing any time in our physical and digital environments.