US trade deal stoppers Starmer’s alcohol advertising ban
Prime minister Keir Starmer has U-turned on his 10-year plan to ban alcohol advertising following outcries from the drinks industry and a warning that it would jeopardise the UK’s trade deal with the US.
Proposals for restrictions on alcohol advertising and marketing were originally included in a leaked document outlining a 10-year plan for the NHS. The official plan is due to be published today (3 July) by health secretary Wes Streeting.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: “We are exploring options for partial restrictions [on alcohol advertising] to bring it closer in line with advertising of unhealthy food” – a move that would likely have seen a ban on promoting alcoholic drinks before the 9pm watershed.
However, the proposed restrictions are now said to have been removed. They have been replaced with a plan that will concentrate on educating the public about the health harms that can result from drinking too much.
In July 2023, a report revealed that alcohol industry advertising spend has “no effect” on the amount that people drink, claiming there is “remarkably little evidence” to support ad bans.
Christopher Snowdon, report author and head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “The claim that banning alcohol advertising would reduce the amount of alcohol-related harm in society has remarkably little evidence to support it.
“Advertising affects the market share of individual brands, but the amount of money spent on alcohol advertising has no effect on alcohol consumption overall. This is how advertising works in every other mature market, and it would be a surprise if alcohol were any different.”
Snowdon also referred to a study of alcohol advertising in the US, which concluded that “brand-level spirits advertising results only in brand switching, and does not increase the size of the spirits market”.
The plan had received widespread backlash from members of the drinks industry, with many US drinks companies complaining that a ban would make it impossible for them to break into the UK. This would give an advantage to established UK brands and therefore break the terms of Starmer’s trade deal with president Trump.
As such, it has been reported that the office of the United States Trade Representative was ‘gearing up’ to formally raise the matter with the UK government if any form of ban was contained in the 10-year plan.
Meanwhile, the UK alcohol industry said a ban would mean a loss of investment and cancelled sports sponsorships.
In March 2023, Scotland proposed a crackdown on alcohol marketing, aimed at stopping children and vulnerable people from being influenced by advertising. This followed calls from a health group for a ban on alcohol sponsorship in sports.
At the time, Matt Lambert, CEO of the UK’s alcohol watchdog the Portman Group, said: “The Portman Group has regulated alcohol marketing since 2003. We have a code that ensures children are protected from alcohol marketing at sports, music and cultural events and that marketing is appropriate. This is an approach that we know works, with many producers using their brands to showcase responsibility messages at major events.
“Equally, there is a wider value in alcohol advertising and sponsorship funding for communities, business, and sports. We know there has been an increase in advertising spend over the past decade in Scotland, while at the same time, there has been a considerable fall in alcohol-related harms and especially children’s drinking.”
Today, a new report was published by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking to showcase the extensive global efforts of leaders across the beer, wine, and spirits sectors to prevent underage drinking and ensure responsible marketing.
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