A ban on TV advertising for alcohol products before 9pm has come into force in Ireland. Section 19 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA) also includes a ban on radio ads for alcohol between 3pm and 10am the following day.
The restriction is ‘particularly important given that Diageo is currently number 4 advertiser to children in Ireland, and at least 50,000 children start to drink every year,’ said the Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) charity.
However, two further sections of the act – which relate to the content of alcohol ads, and ads in publications – are still to be enacted. The former, section 13, is being challenged by the alcohol industry as it contains requirements to include health information such as cancer warnings. Long known for its drinking culture, in 2021 Ireland was ranked 9th highest for per capita alcohol consumption among OECD countries – although this had fallen to 16th by 2023.
Ireland became the first country to commit to mandatory alcohol labelling when the Public Health (Alcohol) (Labelling) Regulations were signed into law two years ago. Along with the PHAA, they mean that all labelling will need to state the amount of alcohol contained, calorie content, and warnings about alcohol-related cancers, liver disease, and drinking while pregnant. The move was commended by the WHO for its ‘progressive approach in prioritising public health and setting a precedent in the EU with the introduction of mandatory alcohol labelling’.
‘Ireland is rightly praised internationally for its leadership in passing the PHAA, which is a suite of quite modest measures designed to provide some degree of protection from the tactics of an aggressive industry acting against the population’s health through relentless marketing,’ said AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany. ‘AAI and many others have strongly campaigned for years for its introduction and since it was passed alcohol consumption per capita has dropped by 10 per cent, which is positive.
‘However, the fact that the broadcast watershed is only coming into force now, almost seven years after being signed into law, and that not all sections of the PHAA are in force yet shows the power of the alcohol industry’s lobbying efforts to stymie and delay progress,’ she continued. ‘The different sections of the PHAA are designed to complement one another, and the legislation’s public health benefits will only be fully realised when all the sections are enforced. With Ireland still drinking at a level 40 per cent higher than HSE lower-risk guidelines, this is an imperative.’